Nothing Endures
by xXxJaceInWonderlandxXx
Summary: Annabeth knew something was up the second she was pulled out of class. She just didn't expect that 'something' to be her supposedly dead mother, who explained that Annabeth must undertake a quest with the help of her ex-best friend, Percy Jackson. But when what started as a roadtrip turns into something bigger than they could have imagined, what will be the consequences? Percabeth.
1. Chapter 1

**I have been so excited for this story for such a long time, and I'm really happy to finally post it! It's going to be a long one, so hope you all stick around!**

**Title: Nothing Endures**

**Rating: T, for some coarse language, violence, and adult themes. No lemons.**

**Disclaimer: I only own the idea. Everything else is Rick Riordan.**

**Longer Synopsis: Annabeth Chase knew something was wrong the second she was dragged out of third period Algebra. She just didn't expect that 'something' to be her supposedly dead mother, who explained that Annabeth must undertake a quest to find the secret to the Mark of Athena, a silver coin in which the fate of the world rests. She also didn't realize that this supposed quest would be the key to reuniting her with her ex-best friend Percy Jackson, and that it would spiral into a cross-country trip that would take them to unimaginable places, discovering new things not only about themselves, but everyone around them. But who is really telling the truth on this journey? And what will be the cost to finding the secret? AU, AH. Percabeth, with side pairings of Jasper and Frazel later on. **

**Updates: I don't have a schedule, but I will try and get chapters out as quickly as I can. However, I will post sneak peeks, extra snippets, and any delays on updates on my Tumblr (link on my profile), so be sure to check that out!**

**Enjoy!**

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_Annabeth_

If there's one thing I've learned from my three years at CHB Secondary, it's that the feedback and crackle of the ancient PA system starting up is never a good thing.

The PA system in my school is viewed as a thing of high reverence, controlled by our lord and master Mr. Dionysius, the drunken and bumbling principal of this fair estate. It signifies all things bad in the world of high school- peppy announcements about cafeteria specials that all taste the exact same, reminders that you can't park your car near the junkyard in the back otherwise it will be crushed, and, most terrifyingly, to call you out in front of everyone and publicly shame you for getting into trouble.

Some people enjoy the sound of the PA system, surprisingly. These two brothers in my homeroom, the Stolls, are already up on their feet by the time the crackling begins, knowing that they've been busted for some prank. Other kids, like myself are terrified of the mere thought of it, as getting paged over the PA system is basically like receiving a death sentence to us.

Which is why, as I'm sitting in third period Algebra II on the balmy April morning this all begins, the sound of feedback causes me to drop my pencil and sit up straight in my chair, looking around to see who could be the guilty party this time. My eyes scan the room calculatingly, looking for people fidgeting as if knowing this call is for them, that they're going to get it for whatever they've done to deserve such a horrid punishment…

"_Annabeth Chase to the principal's office, Annabeth Chase."_

The PA system clicks off almost mockingly, as every single one of the students in the room swivels around to face me incredulously. There's dead silence, as if everyone's holding their breath, waiting for someone to say that this was all a joke, that we've all just been pranked. However, there's no more sound coming from the white box on the wall, so the room settles for all staring at me with the same bug-eyed, open-mouthed expression. Eventually, the teacher, his face mirroring those of the students, clears his throat loudly, the sound echoing around in the silence. "Well, Miss Chase, get going."

I nod, my hands shaking, as I quickly pack up my spot and push my chair backwards, the metal legs screeching on the floor. Everyone in the room winces for a second, their faces morphing, before reverting back to the same stunned expression as before. I stand, making my way to the door and opening it slowly, before stepping out into the hallway to face my doom. Almost immediately after the door clicks closed behind me, I can see the students start to whisper to one another through the glass pane, all of them gazing at the place where I was just sitting.

I force my legs to move down the empty hallway, each step I take pounding in my head. What did I do? I'm basically the epitome of a model student. I volunteer after school, I get straight A's, and I've never gotten a detention. There must be some mistake. How could I, Annabeth Chase, get into trouble?

I reach the front office and pry open the door, finding the room completely empty with the exception of the secretary, a kind lady named Mellie, and the gym teacher, Coach Hedge. They're talking quietly to one another, in a manner that seems it doesn't involve school, so I quickly slip by them just as they begin making kissy-faces at one another. With a small shudder, I round the corner, a door suddenly looming in front of me.

The sign supposedly read _Mr. Dionysius, Principal_, at one point, but now, it's been crossed out and doodled on so much that all that's left is a few vulgar pictures and scribbles. I wrinkle my nose at the images, finding a free spot to knock on the door slowly, the hits feeling like a death sentence. The door creaks open, and two figures appear in my line of vision, one standing primly against the wall, the other lounging in his desk chair like a drunken walrus. "Anniebell!" My principal cries out, his words a bit slurred. "Did Mellie let you in?"

I think about Mellie and the Coach, and shake my head a little to clear it of disturbing images. "Um, she was… occupied, so I let myself in. Is that okay?"

Dionysius waves his hand dismissively, as if that's the least of his concerns. "Ah, yes, whatever. Sit down, Annalise." He gestures to a chair, which seems like it's become home to old socks and empty liquor bottles. I perch on the arm, surveying the space carefully. The walls are filled with different kinds of alcohol, and some big oil painting above the wooden desk depicts the exact same image. The floor is a mess, papers everywhere and boxes and food alike scattered in any available space. It looks more like a disgusting boy's dorm room than a principal's office. Then again, this is CHB Secondary, home to misfits and delinquents alike, so I shouldn't have expected too much.

"So," Mr. D takes a swig of some brown liquid, before setting his bottle back down. "Do you know why we're all gathered here today, Annemarie?" I shake my head no. "Well, let me introduce the woman behind me. This lady is-"

"That's enough of that," The woman, who has been watching the scene stoically until this moment, steps forward. She is gorgeous, with long, elegant black hair and piercing grey eyes. Her suit is a dark grey as well, and an owl pin adorns the front of her blouse. "Dionysius, I must ask you to leave so I can talk to this girl in private." I look up, startled and expecting Mr. D to protest, but instead he merely ducks his head and leaves the room, his bottle still in one hand. Whoever this woman is, she must be very powerful.

"Annabeth," The woman says my name softly, walking towards me, and I frown. How does she know who I am? Mr. D hadn't called me by my proper name the whole time she was in here. "Do you know who I am?"

I stare at her, trying to keep myself from trembling. "Are you from the school board?" I manage to choke out, feeling terrified. There's no other logical reason for this woman to be talking to me, unless I'm in some serious trouble.

The woman clucks her tongue, looking a little disappointed. "I must say, I would have hoped your deductive reasoning skills would be stronger. It must be your father's influence coming into play. Fredrick was good at many things, but reasoning was not one of his strong points. Alas, such must be the case for you."

I back up, my body hitting a couple bottles and sending them tumbling to the ground. "What? Who are you? How do you know my father?" This is honestly getting kind of creepy now, and I find myself actually wishing Mr. D would come back in.

The woman sighs, her steely grey eyes boring into my own. Up close, I can see that her hair, although black, is in identical curls to mine, and that her nose is perfectly straight, just like my own. "Annabeth," She whispers, picking up one of my hands slowly. "I am your mother."

I begin to laugh hysterically, backing up further into the corner. "Nice try. My mother's been dead since I was a baby. Who put you up to this? Was it the Stolls? Only they would pull such an immature, Star Wars related prank…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Annabeth," My supposed mother scoffs, letting go of my hand. "Everyone knows that Star Wars is just a clichéd, unrealistic…"

"…completely unscientific way of talking about life forms on other galaxies," I finish with her in unison, gaping at the woman in front of me. This is really freaking me out. Who is this lady, and why does she seem to know so much about me? I've never seen her before in my life.

"You see?" The woman smiles at me, her pearly teeth gleaming as she steps forwards. This must be some kind of prank. Someone must have put her up to this. "You have my mind, Annabeth. You have my eyes, my face, my posture. I see myself in you, and, for any mother, that is such a proud moment. It is especially so for me, however, because I need you. I need your help, Annabeth, otherwise the world is doomed."

I laugh, a nervous bubble of hysteria that emerges from my chest on its own accord. "Am I being recruited for some role-play thing? Is this some kind of sick reality show? Look, I don't know you, and honestly, you're kind of freaking me out right now…" I trail off as the woman pulls out a small wallet, opening it up to show me two identical images. On the right side, there's a picture of a couple on their wedding day, the man with a shock of blond hair and wire-rimmed glasses, the woman looking uncannily like the lady in front of me right now. On the other side is a picture of the same woman, only she's holding a little baby in her arms, a bright red bundle with wispy blonde hair…

"That's me," I marvel, touching the picture on the left. "And… and… that's you! And my dad! Please tell me this is some kind of sick dream! My mother is dead! Gone! She died in a car crash when I was a baby, and left my father alone with me! You aren't my mother!" I'm babbling now, my normally organized mind a swirling disaster.

"Annabeth, please," The woman snaps, looking frustrated. "Calm yourself. From what I've heard, you seemed to be a very intelligent young lady, although I'm not seeing that in this bumbling mess you're acting like now. My name is Athena. I am your mother. I need your help, and you will help me, otherwise everything you know and love will cease to exist. I faked my death in that car, but it was for your own good. I need you to hear me out, alright?"

My head bobs up and down of its own accord, although my mind is still wary. This is crazy. I'm going to wake up in a few minutes, in my nice, warm bed, with my alarm blaring behind me and my half-brothers jumping on me. "Alright," I say, my voice shockingly weak. I clear my throat and try again. "Alright, I'll listen to you. But only because I know this is all in my head. You aren't real, and this is just a dream."

Athena clucks her tongue disapprovingly, obviously unimpressed by my logical reasoning skills. "Fine. Believe whatever insane fantasy you want. You'll see the truth soon enough. Annabeth, what I'm about to entrust you with is important, my life's work. You must promise to follow my instructions exactly. Can you do that?"

I nod, still disbelieving, just as Athena tosses a coin in my direction, the metal surface glinting in the dim office light. In a split second, it's resting in my palm, although I never made a move to go and catch it. "What's this?" I marvel, curious in spite of myself. The item I've just been handed is silver, an owl imprinted on one side. There's letters scratched around the edges messily, in an unfamiliar language.

"This is the Mark of Athena," My supposed mother, if possible, stands up even straighter. "Annabeth, I need you to avenge me where I have been wronged. Follow the Mark. Find the secret. By 10:55 tonight, you must begin your quest, keeping the coin with you at all times and watching for the signs that will help you along the way. Do you understand?"

I snort incredulously, before catching myself. "Sorry, sorry. But that's awfully specific, isn't it?"

Athena sighs, placing a hand on the bridge of her nose as if she couldn't believe that I was her daughter. Trust me, I was having trouble seeing the family relation too. "Annabeth, this is serious," She tosses a bag at me, and I quickly reach a hand out to catch it. "All you need is in there. I have taken the liberty of also providing you with some of my own creation, ambrosia, which heals any wound quickly. Don't underestimate anything that could happen on this journey."

My eyes widen for a second. This is feeling more and more surreal by the second. "Wait, so you're sending me, your supposed child, on a quest where I will get hurt? What kind of parenting is that?" This cannot be reality. This kind of thing only happens in cheesy novels.

"You are special," Athena's gaze grows hard. "That means that you will experience great loss and heartache, as all heroes must endure. It is what the Fates say, and I know enough not to disagree with their word. One last instruction, before I leave you. You must take two companions with you on your journey. This is too hard of a task to undertake alone."

I sigh, relieved that she hadn't asked me to throw myself off a cliff or something to prove my worthiness. "Well, that's easy. I'll take-"

"Companions that I have selected," Athena sighs impatiently. "I assume you are familiar with Grover Underwood?" At my nod, she continues, "He will be your first companion on the quest."

I sigh resignedly. Grover was a shy kid in my Science class, who had been born crippled. We had never really talked before, but there were worse people, I suppose. "Alright, and who's the second one?"

At this point, Athena's face turns even sharper, her bottom lip curling slightly in distaste. "The next companion is an idiot, however, he is the one that will aid you the most, in the end. But you must promise to not be distracted by his foolery. You are on this quest to avenge me, and that will not happen if you are not focused. Do you understand?"

I bite my tongue, more than a little worried about what's going on. Athena seems dead serious about all of this quest business, and the fact that she knows so much about me and my life is freaking me out. Either this is some elaborate scheme or she's actually telling the truth, although neither one seems completely logical in my mind. "Okay…" I say warily, unaware of where this is going. "Who is it?"

Athena's eyes look like steel, cool and unbreakable. She steps back from me, holding her polished briefcase to the side as she pulls open the door. "Percy Jackson, of course. What did I tell you before about logical reasoning?"

With that, she leaves the office, letting the door click shut as she goes.

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**Dun dun dun... we're getting straight into the action here! I really hoped you all enjoyed, as I worked really hard on this. Next chapter will be out soon!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated and loved, so please leave one on your way out! It only takes a couple seconds to make someone's day. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**To say I'm blown away by the response to the first chapter would be a understatement. **

**Thank you all so much for the amazingly kind reviews! That Was Such A Face Palm, lexgracemutkus0414, SomethingMoreCreative, MistressBlack523, annabeth137, and Kira Liven, you are all incredibly fantastic people for reviewing. Also, thanks to the 7 people that faved and the eleven that followed! You all rock, too!**

**Enjoy!**

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_Percy_

To say I'm shocked when Annabeth Chase comes rushing up to me after school would be the understatement of the century. After the events that took place two months ago, I never thought that she would every acknowledge me again, and yet there she is, marching over to the front of the school determinedly as her blonde curls fly back in the breeze. Annabeth's dragging another kid along with her, a boy from my woodshop class named Oscar or something, and her eyes harden as she approaches.

"Percy," Her tone is clipped, professional as she approaches where I'm leaning against the front doors. The lack of emotion in it freaks me out. "I need to talk to you."

For a moment, unreasonable hope swells up in my chest before I remember the other boy standing there. If Annabeth were to talk to me about… that… she would have wanted there to be no other witnesses. "About what?" I ask cautiously, meeting the bewildered gaze of Oscar.

"About…" Annabeth sighs, before pulling the other boy and I in close, as if she's a little kid about to share a secret. "About why I had to leave third period."

I stare at her blankly. We have third period together, and I'm pretty sure I would know if something life-altering happened to her during Algebra II. "You weren't there in third period? Really?"

For a moment, Annabeth's eyes are filled with something akin to hurt, before she straightens and it is replaced by mild annoyance. "The PA system paged me in front of everybody! Everyone was looking as I had to take the walk of shame to the front office."

I look at her for a minute, bewildered. No one listens to the PA system in our class, and we were all so loud today I doubt we could have heard it anyways. "Okay, okay. So what does this have to do with you and Oscar wanting me to talk to you?"

"Um, my name's Grover," The boy, who had stayed quiet during this entire conversation, finally speaks up. I notice for the first time that he has metal crutches on his arms, helping him stand. "Although kudos for remembering that I was named after a Sesame Street character."

I give him a light fist bump, as Annabeth rolls her eyes at our budding bromance. Her posture's tense, face void of all emotion. Something must really be wrong. I turn to face her, my eyes full of concern. "But seriously, why do you need to talk to us? What's going on?"

Annabeth's mouth tightens, her whole body still seeming alien to me. I'm not used to her being this closed-off. The Annabeth I remember was carefree and fun, not this unbreakable individual the rest of the world has always seen her as. And now, for the first time, I realize how it feels like to be an outsider to her, a stranger looking in. I know I should be more cautious- this is our first conversation since the fallout, after all- but I can't bring myself to care. "I met my mom," She whispers, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"Um, guys?" Grover taps me on the shoulder, and I realize that most of the school is silent, watching our exchange. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private to speak."

Annabeth blinks, snapping out of her trance, and nods, grabbing Grover's arm again and stepping away from me. I follow behind them like a sheepdog, awkwardly dodging all of the looks and questions being shot at me. The entire student body knew when Annabeth and I had our fall-out, so obviously they would be all over our first interaction. I follow the two of them into a tiny café across the street, overrun with teenagers who had just finished their school day. The air is full of roasted coffee beans and laughter as Annabeth drags us towards a back table, before sucking in a sharp breath and veering to another booth a couple feet away. I bite my bottom lip and follow, walking away from the original table, the one where we always used to sit. Things are definitely different now.

Annabeth slides into one side of the booth, and Grover and I sit on the other. She drums her fingers on the wooden surface anxiously, glancing around as if she hoped one of us would break the silence.

I'm the first one to speak. "I thought your mom was dead," I say bluntly, earning an elbow in the ribs from Grover. Granted, maybe my approach wasn't the most tactful, but it got the point across, right?

Annabeth sighs. "So did I. But she talked to me today in Mr. D's office. She said… she said that the fate of the world rests on my shoulders, as crazy as that sounds."

"You sure it wasn't just a hallucination? I mean, there are a lot of alcohol fumes in that room," It's my turn to elbow Grover. This sounds crazy to me too, but Annabeth normally go through all of the trouble to get us here unless she was sure about what was happening. Then again, did I really even know the girl standing in front of me anymore?

Annabeth bites her bottom lip, her teeth chewing on the chapped surface. "No, it was real. Trust me. She had this picture of me and her, and she said her name was Athena and that she knew all of these things about me and my life and said that she faked her death…" She trails off, burying her head in her hands. "I sound crazy, don't I?"

"Only a little," I say simply, still confused to why Annabeth needed to tell me, her ex-best friend, and Grover, a kid she's never talked to before, all of this. "So say this is real. What did Athena do that freaked you out so much?"

Grey eyes harden and meet mine as Annabeth begins to recount what had happened in the office, stopping to pull out the coin. Grover examines it slowly, as the story continues, finally with Annabeth mentioning how Athena said that Grover and I needed to accompany her. I begin to shake my head, disbelieving. Annabeth's seriously been screwed over. There is no way that there's some tiny little coin that holds all of the secrets in the world, and us, three teenagers from New York, are the only ones who can help.

"So let me get this straight," Grover places the silver coin down onto the table with a plink. "You want us to give up everything in our lives, everything we've known, and go on a roadtrip with you to find out about a mysterious coin that apparently holds the fate of the world?"

Annabeth fiddles with her fingers. "Well… yes?" Her cheeks are flushed, a sure sign that she's either angry or upset. Right now, I think it's kind of a mixture of both. Even though her story seems insane, for reasons I don't understand, she seems to have complete faith in it. But why? Annabeth's always been logical.

"Forget it," Grover struggles to his feet, leaning heavily on his crutches. "Sorry Annabeth- you seem nice, same with you, Percy- but I don't think this makes any sense. I need to get to my Eco Club meeting. It was nice talking to you." With that, he limps out the door, leaving both Annabeth and I dumbfounded.

The second the café door shuts, I let out a loud laugh. "I have to admit, I did not think he had it in him. I mean, Grover standing up to yo…" I trail off as I see Annabeth's face crumple, one hand still wrapped around the silver coin. "Hey, cheer up. Can't you just find some other kid to go on this quest?"

Annabeth glares at me, her nose turning up slightly. At that moment, she looks more like a princess than ever, sitting straight with her blonde curls spiralling down her sides. "My mother said you two have to accompany me. I don't want to challenge her rule."

I hold up my hands in mock defense, realizing suddenly that Annabeth Chase and I are having a civil conversation alone. "Okay, okay. But why do you have to listen to her? I mean, you're the one being put in danger, right? That should give you some of the decision making power. Plus, every kid disobeys their parents once in a while."

With a roll of her eyes, Annabeth looks at me exasperatedly. Maybe I was wrong about the whole 'civil' part. "Percy, you don't understand."

Those four words, so familiar yet so alien, tinged with nothing but bitterness, send a jolt through me. I think that's what makes me snap, makes me realize that I don't have to tread carefully around her any longer. There's no friendship to maintain. "You're right, I don't. And, according to you, I never have. So care to enlighten me?"

Annabeth looks at me, frustration and anger simmering just below the surface. "Don't bring our past dispute into this. And I don't know, maybe I want my mother to be proud of me for once! Some of us actually have to work to earn a mother's love."

I stare at her incredulously, barely even processing the second part of her statement. "A past dispute? That's what you've decided to call it? That was not a dispute, Annabeth. That was a full out war." It feels weird to say her name again.

"A war?" Annabeth stares at me, letting out a humourless chuckle. "Gods, Percy, you're overreacting. It's behind us now. I need your help."

At once, the reason for her cordial attitude, the barely repressed anger, all becomes clear to me. "That's why you're being so nice," I sigh, knowing it was too good to be true. "You're being selfish yet again and manipulating me because you need help! Well, too bad. I'm not your little lapdog anymore- I'm not going to follow you wherever you go. We have school! We have our families! Finals are coming! We can't just drop everything for a stupid piece of metal! Forget it, Annabeth. I'm not coming with you, and you should just give up on this ridiculous thing altogether! It isn't logical!"

Annabeth stares at me, hurt in her eyes but her mouth pressed into a thin line. She's not denying my words. For once, Percy Jackson is behaving more logical than Annabeth Chase. I open my mouth, about to continue with my tirade when an employee taps me on the shoulder, looking grim. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I shrug off his hand, picking up my thin windbreaker from the booth. "Fine. I was just going anyways."

Annabeth's face looks desperate as she watches me stand. I don't care. She's being irrational. "Wait, Percy…" I turn, even though my mind is screaming at me to keep walking. Annabeth sighs, twisting her slender fingers together. "Two months ago, you would have wanted to come with me. When we were little, we always dreamed of going on an adventure like this! And now you have the choice… and you've rejected it."

I meet her gaze evenly. "Yeah, well a lot has changed since then. Including you." With that, I turn and walk out into the late afternoon sun, leaving her standing dumbfounded.

Driving home in my blue minivan (laugh all you want, but it's actually a very dignified car), I finally allow myself to relax. Even the thought of Annabeth has put me on edge lately, and the fact that we went back to the café- the café that we hung out in every day since freshman year, I might add- didn't help matters. There's an unbridgeable gap between us now, and if we get within five feet of one another, like today, there's a probability things will blow up.

Seconds after I finish thinking that, my minivan goes over a small bump, jostling me slightly. I don't pay attention to it- it's probably just a rock or something, but soon after, the car jolts again, and then again. I turn onto a side road, frowning. If something's wrong with the car, it's coming out of my pocket.

There's a bigger bang, and then all of the sudden the van begins spinning out of control. I yelp, grabbing onto the wheel and attempting to regain power, to no avail. The car bounces off the side of the thankfully empty road, rolling into a desolate field before screeching to a halt, sending me flying forward until my forehead smacks against the steering wheel. With a panicked gasp, I unbuckle my seatbelt and dash out of the minivan, bending over to catch my breath. What just happened?

A loud popping noise sounds from inside the van, and I inch closer. It's sounding from the backseat, a continual drone, as if someone's cracking bubble gum over and over again. I shove open the door and peer in, seeing nothing but the usual clutter- old homework sheets, swimming stuff, and empty water bottles- until a glint catches my attention.

On the right side of the seat, a small metal pen rolls around, the popping noise emerging from its inside. I lean in and pick it up, holding the small object at arm's length. It looks like a normal ballpoint pen, one all of my classmates probably have shoved inside their schoolbags. The popping alarms me, however, so with a frown, I toss the pen a couple of feet away.

There's a crack, and then a hiss, and suddenly all of the ground near the pen is black and incinerated. I gape in shock at the object, going over and picking up the small item before conducting a more thorough examination. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I walk back to the van, looking next to where I first saw the pen. There's a note taped to the window that wasn't there before, written in small, curling script.

_This may come in handy. –Athena_

_ PS: My daughter is not a fool, Percy Jackson. It would do you well to listen to her, for her motives are not always selfish ones._

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**Awkward introduction to Riptide, I know. And what happened between Percy and Annabeth? Why did Percy's car go crazy? What will happen next? All of this in more coming in chapters to follow!**

**So yeah, hope this didn't suck too bad! School's been INSANE, so forgive me if this isn't as polished as the last chapter!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**

**PS: Go Team Canada! We've won 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze so far! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Sorry once again for the wait- school has been driving me insane, my math teacher has no clue what she's teaching, and science labs are now one of the banes of my existence. But anyways.**

**Thanks to That Was Such A Face Palm, SomethingMoreCreative, Tanaya1261, lexgracemutkus0414, and Kira Liven. Your reviews were all so sweet and lovely and made my day.**

**I know the last chapter was kinda off, and I feel like this one is too. But the next one is going to be long, so watch out for that!**

**Enjoy!**

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_Annabeth_

The stairs creak under my feet as I walk down to the kitchen, a book in one hand. I attempt to ignore the digital clock over the stove, although my eyes stray there anyways, the red numbers searing themselves into my mind.

10:44 PM. I have just over ten minutes and then, if Athena was correct, the end of the world begins. But it's not my fault, right? Percy and Grover both refused to come with me. I'm starting to think it was all just some dream, except there's still a coin in my pocket and a bag filled with presents from my supposed 'mother'. Items like that don't just appear. Yet at the same time, I'm scared to tell anyone, for fear of sounding insane. I've always been a logical person, but no amount of math or science can give me a straight answer to this equation.

There are muffled voices sounding upstairs- my stepmom and dad putting my two half-brothers to bed. I can hear their door shutting and feet crossing the landing before my dad leans over the railing and whispers to me down the stairs, "Not too late, alright?" Obviously, they've figured out that I'm not in my bedroom.

I nod, even though he can't see me. "Goodnight," I mutter back, leaning over to open the fridge. It bathes the dark room with a florescent glow, making shadows appear around every corner. When I was little, Percy and I would sneak down here during sleepovers and eat until we got caught, with sticky hands and messy faces. I shake the thought of Percy away, leaning in to grab some orange juice. His words today stung, more than I let on.

Granted, our disagreement was a lot bigger than I had described it as in the café, but I wasn't just trying to coerce him into joining me the whole time! I honestly (although you'll never get me to repeat this) miss him, but what he did was unforgivable. It was all his fault, really. His fault that there's this giant rift in between us. His fault that I can't make my mother proud. This quest is too big to undertake by myself.

10:50 PM. My gaze wanders over to a bag in the corner, packed with food and supplies and clothes. Athena took the liberty of providing me with a supposedly 'unlimited' credit card, which hopefully will still work even if I choose not to take the trip. In the front pouch I shoved the two pictures from the office- the wedding day and the one with me as a baby. I won't need any of that, though. At eleven pm, I'll still be safe.

There's a crash outside and I jump, my nerves already on edge. 10:52 PM. I shakily drink a little bit of my orange juice, attempting to calm myself. Nothing's going to go wrong. It was all some insane hallucination. My mother is dead. My mother is dead. My mother is dead.

I repeat this mantra over and over in my head until another crash sounds, much closer this time. A bit of orange juice sloshes out of my glass and onto the tile floor as I leap into the air again. It's probably just the wind. My grey eyes land on the clock yet again. 10: 54 PM.

I let out a shudder before racing over and grabbing the knapsack from the corner. Even if this really is nothing, I still want to be prepared. The Mark of Athena, still in my pocket, now feels like an anchor, dragging me down. I could swear it was heating up, but that's probably just me. I close my eyes slowly, and then open them again. 10:55 PM. I let out a shaky breath. I'm alive. Nothing's happened.

And that's when the dogs burst through the front door, sending it off its hinges and into the dining room wall.

I scream, loudly, hoping to alert my parents to the feral beasts that are currently clattering down the front hallway, to no avail. The dogs round in on me, two of them, both big black creatures with saliva dripping from open jaws, low growls emitting from their throats. Panicking, I throw the glass of orange juice at them, watching for a moment in satisfaction as the glass shatters and shards pierce their thick skin, before racing over and grabbing a kitchen knife from the counter. I really don't want to kill them, but there's no other choice.

The dogs begin to circle around me, the blood dripping off of them making them appear even more terrifying. The knife is making them stay at bay for now, but how long will that last? My parents still aren't down, despite all of the noise I've been making- something must be keeping them away. That thought alone scares me, for it shows me even more that Athena was right. I have to go on that quest, otherwise I'll be putting both myself and my family in danger. But how can I do that if I can't even get away from a few mutts?

I raise my knife for a second, ready to lunge forward and slit their throats, when a shout makes me turn. The dogs take that as an entrance, jumping towards me, their mouths open and eyes shining with feral rage…

And then they're gone. There's a hiss, and then suddenly all that's left is a pile of ashes and a single ballpoint pen. I turn, shaken, only to see Percy standing there, leaning on the counter with his hands out in front of him, his face a mixture of shock and horror. The sight of him, ever-familiar in my kitchen, makes me even more dizzy than I am already as I turn and retch into the sink, the enormity of what had just transpired hitting me all at once. This is insane. Dogs don't break down your front doors at night and try to kill you before being turned into a pile of ash thanks to a pen wielded by your ex-best friend. I grip the sides of the sink, shaking. For once, there's no logical explanation.

"Annabeth?" It seems like Percy was about to put his hand on my shoulder, but once I turn he hastily retracts it. "We need to go."

I nod, stepping away from the sink before his words can fully be processed. "Wait, what do you mean _we_?" Percy rubs the back of his neck, looking sheepish, and suddenly I understand. "You're coming with me?"

"Grover and I are coming with you," Percy corrects me, his face void of any emotion. "Only because I think this is something you shouldn't do alone. This is a business relationship, alright? Nothing more."

I bite my lip, trying not to show how his words stung. "I would hope not," With a frown, I grab the backpack from the corner and walk out into the hallway, past the broken door. "We better hurry- who knows what'll happen if we stay around too long."

Logic is my cover, my way of hiding the fact that I'm internally freaking out right now. I just want to crawl underneath my covers and never emerge, but for whatever reason, Athena chose me, and I'm not letting her down. The consequences could be fatal if we do. I don't know anything about the Mark of Athena, but I do know that we have to find the secret, and that means moving quickly. If the dogs were any indication, we can't inform anyone or the consequences could be deadly.

The sky is dark when we emerge from the house a couple of seconds later. Grover's sitting in the passenger seat of Percy's blue minivan, which now has several scratches along the front. I look at Percy inquisitively, wondering what happened, but he simply pulls me into the backseat, mumbling about "Stupid grains and schist," although the second word could easily have been something else.

Percy clambers into the driver's seat and screeches out of my driveway, turning unsteadily around a couple corners before finally making it onto the interstate. I have no clue where we're going, only that we need to get far away from here. The backseat is a mess, all old papers and bottles, but I see some things that look like they were brought along for this specific journey- some food and water, along with duffel bags packed with clothes for Grover and Percy, most likely. Underneath the seat, however, after a little bit of poking around, I discover the real treasure- several grocery bags stuffed to the brim with blue candy. With a grin, I begin eating blue licorice hungrily, as Grover and Percy carry on a quiet conversation in the front seat, oblivious to us all.

"So what's up with the magic pen?" I say, the candy feeling surprisingly calming. "I mean, you kind of made two full-fledged demon dogs detonate in my kitchen, so I feel like I deserve a bit of an explanation."

Percy sighs, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he continues to drive. "Well, it was kind of a gift from your supposed mother, right before she almost blew up my van."

I choke on my licorice. "What?"

Grover grins at me, seeing my astonished face in the mirror. "Yeah, and I got these really weird pipes that can, like, put people in a trance or something! They appeared in my room after Eco Club, so then I started to mess around with them and accidentally knocked my hamster out. So then I called Percy…"

"…and I had just found my bomb-pen," Percy continues, grinning at my dumbstruck expression. "So Grover and I talked for a bit, realized maybe we overreacted, and decided to come with you, as crazy as this whole thing seems. So then I got Grover and we- Hey! Are you eating my blue candy?"

I shove a pile of it behind my back. "No…" I say sheepishly, gulping down the licorice still in my mouth. Percy rolls his eyes at me and turns back to face the road, humming a song underneath his breath.

This all feels so surreal yet so natural all at the same time. An hour ago, I was drinking orange juice in my kitchen, and now I'm roaring down the interstate in a blue minivan with a two boys- one I barely know and another I'd like to forget. I'm surprised by how readily I'm handling this, but I suppose when things like this happen, you kind of just have to tune out the sheer unpracticality of the situation and just deal.

After a little more driving, Percy turns off of the busy highway and into a carpool parking lot, turning around to face me once the van's stopped. "Okay, we got far enough away from our homes now. But pretty soon, someone's going to discover that we're gone and that your front door is busted, and they'll be cops everywhere. We have to get out of the state quickly. It's too risky to try and contact anyone."

I nod, admittedly a little surprised by his quick thinking. "I agree. But Athena didn't give me any instructions on where to go. Meaning, we're basically wandering blindly in hopes that we'll stumble upon information. And sheer logic states that it's statistically improbable that that will ever work."

This time, the word Percy says definitely isn't schist. Grover looks up from the passenger seat, dismayed. "You mean nothing she gave you had any clues about where you were supposed to go?"

I shrug, feeling helpless. "I don't know! I mean, there was the coin…" Percy lets out an aggravated sigh, and I frown. "You didn't have to come with me, you know. And trust me, if there was a plan, I would have told you already!"

Grover looks at us nervously, sensing the oncoming fight. "Guys…"

Percy frowns, glaring back at me. This is more like what our relationship is usually like. "Honest to God, Annabeth, I assumed you would have planned ahead! Don't blame me for thinking I knew you so well! I mean, we did spend the majority of our life together!"

"Guys…" Grover interjects yet again.

"You don't know me at all!" I scream back at Percy, ignoring Grover. "If you had, you wouldn't have decided to ruin everything!"

"Guys…" Grover definitely looks panicked now.

"I ruined everything?" Percy looks at me and laughs derisively. "That's a good one, Annabeth. That's real funny. The way I remember it, you were the one that walked away." His face is angry, but in his eyes something else flickers… sadness? Remorse?

"Guys!" Grover shouts, right before I make a scathing comeback. We both whip our heads around to glare at him in unison, causing Grover to sink back in his chair. At any other time, I would have felt guilty for making him be this terrified, but I'm still buzzing with adrenaline from that spat with Percy. "Um, Annabeth's kind of... glowing."

I glance down in shock, only to see, that, in fact, Grover is right. The Mark of Athena, still in my pocket, is emitting a strange silver light that casts creepy shadows all around the van. I pull it out, wincing as the glow increases, as both boys stare at me in confusion.

"Is it, um, supposed to do that?" Grover asks timidly, and I shake my head no. The coin's getting uncomfortably hot on my palm, it's surface shaking a little as if charged with electricity. Athena never mentioned anything about this. Maybe this is what the secret is supposed to fix? I wince as the temperature increases even more. This is getting kind of painful. With a yelp, I toss the now smoking coin onto the floor of the car, cradling my burnt hand to my chest. The owl insignia is now permanently engraved on my palm, much to my chagrin.

The coin is shaking faster now, the light blinding all three of us. I can barely make out Grover and Percy in the front seat as they shield their eyes from the glow. Finally, the coin shoots a blinding beam of light upwards, before doing something remarkable.

It begins to speak.

Well, not have a conversation per say, but a voice begins to emit from the inside, strangely robotic and yet familiar all the same. "Half-Blood Tourism. Long Island. Hurry."

With that, the light suddenly leaves the coin and the shaking stops, leaving the three of us sitting in the van in silence. It feels ridiculously dark now without the glow, my hand throbbing quietly from the burn left from the coin.

Percy looks up at me, his eyes wide. "What the f-"

I frown at him, cutting him off before he could swear. "I don't know what that was either. But we need to follow the Mark of Athena. We need to go to Half-Blood Tourism, whatever that is, and see if they can help us. We have a plan now. We can do this."

Grover sighs, rubbing his eyes. Clearly, this trip has not been what he anticipated it being so far. Trust me, I was having the same thoughts. "At least we won't be wandering around blindly now. Let's go."

Percy nods, straight-faced, as he reverses out of the parking lot and back onto the busy highway. I close my eyes, attempting to catch a few minutes of shut-eye before our next scare.

Something tells me this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.

* * *

**Once again, a lot of stuff is still confusing, but it'll hopefully clear up soon... or not. I plan on keeping you in the dark about what went down between Percy and Annabeth for a very, very long time...**

**I think at this point, you can expect weekly to bi-weekly updates from me. It all depends on homework and projects, plus whatever stuff my parents force me to do on the weekend.**

**Oh, and I think I may start posting sneak peeks of future chapters on Tumblr! Search the tag labelled Fanfiction if you don't want to have to scroll through all my crap, lol.**

**Happy belated Valentine's Day/Family Day (for all of you Canadians). **

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Less than a week between updates! Yay! It's a long one, too, so hope you all like it!**

**Thanks to the awesome people who left amazing reviews, SomethingMoreCreative, henrie locker, lexgracemutkus0414, and Burned Blue Cookie. You all rock! Also, please please please don't follow and favourite without reviewing. If you like it enough to do that, could you please just type a couple words? It really makes my day every time I see a new review appear!**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

_Percy_

We pull up to Half-Blood Tourism about three hours later, around 2am. I'm exhausted and my fingers are throbbing from gripping the wheel for so long. My eyesight blurs as I follow the GPS that I had thankfully stuck in here before all of this began down a small road, past a giant pine tree and up a bumpy hill before finally, a small white sign hanging from the side of the road greets me. The weak minivan lights can barely pick up the blue lettering, but I make out the word _Half-Blood _as I turn onto a gravel path and stop before what seems like an old, three-story farmhouse, a few cars parked in the miniscule parking lot.

Grover stirs in the passenger seat, where he had slept for the past hour or so, muttering about enchiladas the whole time. He lets out a yawn that almost reminds me of a bleat, stretching his arms wide above his head. "Man, are we here?"

I nod, feeling like my head is made out of lead. Grover and I had spent the first little bit of this journey talking, and, honestly, he seems like a pretty cool guy. If I had to pick a person to go on this messed-up 'quest' with, he would be in the top three. Annabeth, however… every time I think we may even be getting along for a little bit, she screws it up. I mean, granted, I wasn't ready with a genius plan either, but would it have killed her to at least ask Athena about some directions before we started?

Grover has now leaned back and is waking the girl in question up, shaking her shoulder lightly. Annabeth was the first one to pass out, and for a second I feel a twinge of annoyance at the fact that I got elected the sleepless chauffer while she got to curl up and nap for a while. It's quickly replaced by shame, however, when I think about how her day must have been. We may not be on the best of terms, but I can still sympathize with what she's going through. Of course, that's not saying my day has been a walk in the park either.

"Percy? Percy?" Annabeth and Grover are staring at me, and I realize that I'd been close to nodding off. Annabeth bites her lip, looking worried. "You can wait in the car if you want. I don't think we'll be that long." Her tone, although meaning to be sympathetic, almost comes off as condescending, and I scowl as I clamber out of the car.

"I'm fine," I mutter, walking up to the front porch of the house, gravel crunching underneath my feet. Ignoring Grover and Annabeth's protests behind me, I knock loudly on the door, only to realize my mistake a few seconds later. It's 2am. Obviously no one is up. With a sigh, I turn back towards my two unlikely companions. "We can sleep in the car, I guess. Tomorrow morning they'll most likely open up and then we can…" I trail off as the foyer light switches on from inside, bathing the front steps in yellow glow. The door swings open, revealing a man sitting in a wheelchair, a blanket thrown over his legs. I bite my lip, feeling ashamed at having made someone wake up. "Um, sorry. We'll come back tomorrow."

The man peers out in the gloom curiously, gazing at the three of us with a hint of a smile before shaking his head. "No sense in that. Come in, come in. Half-Blood Tourism is always here to help, no matter what the hour."

Annabeth steps up behind me, biting her bottom lip. "Are you sure? We don't want to be of any inconvenience. I apologize for my… friend knocking on your door- he can be a little bit of a seaweed brain sometimes." The nickname slips out of her lips easily, as if she didn't realize her words at first, but then her eyes widen and she looks away and flushes, much like I myself am doing. This travelling-together thing is bringing back a lot of past memories, for better or for worse.

The man smiles, looking as if he knows exactly what happened between Annabeth and I as he props the door open wider. "Nonsense. You all look exhausted. Come in, come in. I'm Chiron."

I glance at Grover, who shrugs. The three of us step into the front hallway, following Chiron as he wheels into what seems to be a big office, much like Mr. D's. This one, however, is neater, and seems to be mainly full of pictures of children posing in orange t-shirts, by a lake and a campfire and the strangest looking cabins I've ever seen. Grover sinks down into a chair, leaving Annabeth and I to share the couch. I shoot him a glare as Chiron begins to speak again.

"So, is this a high school roadtrip gone wrong? Separated from your tour group? Accidentally wandered upon here and needed a place to spend the night?" Chiron wheels himself behind his desk, folding his hands on top.

Annabeth sighs, fidgeting with her fingers. "Um, well, Percy, Grover and I are kind of on a… quest of sorts."

Chiron's eyebrows shoot upwards. "Are you three some kind of roleplayers?"

I snort quickly to hold back a laugh. Everyone's gaze swivels towards me, Annabeth glaring, the other two looking merely curious. "Sorry, sorry. No, we're not. Annabeth's mom came to talk to her- I guess you could say yesterday. She told Annabeth that the fate of the world depends on the three of us, and that we need to follow something called the Mark of Athena and find out it's secret. The coin, er, spoke to us and told us that we needed to come here." I slink down on the couch, realizing how insane I sound. Chiron probably thinks we're all high or something.

However, to my surprise, Chiron seems to look at us with a much higher regard now, straightening up in his wheelchair. "You're them," He whispers, gaping at us as if he could hardly believe his eyes.

"Um, what?" Grover looks at Chiron in surprise. "Sorry, do you mind clarifying who exactly 'them' are?"

"Sorry, my dear child, sorry," Chiron clears his throat. "You three are the beginning of the prophecy. The first of the saviors of Olympus," I'm starting to reconsider who's high in this room. "You must go and talk to the Oracle. She will be able to explain this much better than I. The Great Prophecy."

Annabeth glances around, looking as bewildered as I felt. "But it's almost 3am, and Percy still hasn't slept… and what do you mean, an Oracle? Like, someone who can tell the future? And a prophecy? I liked the roleplaying theory much better!" At any other time, I would be flattered thanks to her concern for me, but right now I'm too busy trying to make sense of Chiron's words. The man has wheeled away from his desk now, ushering us out into the main hallway with more than a little force.

"Go up those stairs, children, until you reach the attic," Chiron's voice has dropped to a whisper. "Trust me. This is all in your best interests to finding the secret to the Mark."

With that, he wheels himself back into the office, letting the door click shut behind him. I turn towards Annabeth and Grover, who still stand at the bottom of the stairs looking worried. "What could be the worst that could happen?" I begin to ascend the staircase, the wooden steps creaking underneath my feet.

"You never ask that, Percy," Grover grumbles, as he and Annabeth begin to follow me up, his crutches banging noisily against the wood. I roll my eyes and ignore him, finally reaching the top landing. There's a trapdoor above my head, a rope hanging down from it. With a jump, I manage to reach it, and a rope ladder flies down from the open hole, almost smacking me in the face as I careen backwards into Annabeth to avoid getting pushed.

She squeaks, pushing me off with flaming cheeks. "Sorry," I mutter sheepishly, stepping forward to peer up into the gloom. It looks dark, and for a second I wonder if all of this could just be a trap.

Grover comes over to stand beside me, taking one look at the fraying rope before adamantly shaking his head no. "Nope, not doing that. There's no way I'm getting up, and even less of a chance I'm going to get back down."

I sigh, placing my right foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. It holds, so carefully, I place my other foot on next to it. "Looks like it's just me and Annabeth, then." With a sigh, I begin to climb up, finally emerging into the darkness. Within seconds, Annabeth is beside me, clicking the light from her phone on to illuminate the dusty room, piles of long-forgotten clothing and belongings draped over every surface. It looks like something straight out of a horror movie.

There's a click behind us, and Annabeth and I whirl around to see a candle flicker on, and then another, and another. We cautiously walk towards them, more flames illuminating our path the farther we walk. Finally, we reach the corner of the attic, roped off by a thick white sheet. In the dim candlelight, I can barely make out a human figure sitting on a stool on the other side.

"Um, hi?" Annabeth approaches the sheet, looking nervous. "Chiron sent us up here to talk to you. I heard there was a prophecy about us?"

There's no response from the other side of the sheet, save for a faint twitch of a hand. I sigh, stepping forward to stand beside Annabeth. "Look. We're trying to find the secret to the Mark of Athena. Apparently that makes us special for some weird reason I don't know. But Chiron says that we're the first of the 'Great Prophecy', whatever that is, so can you please just explain your spiritual crap to us before we decide to leave"

"Percy!" Annabeth hisses, whacking me on the arm, but to her chagrin, my comment seems to work. The figure swivels around to face us, and although I still can't see her eyes through the sheet, I'm beginning to feel like she's staring straight into my soul.

"The heroes have arisen," The voice is feminine, soft and brittle, and sends chills up my spine. "Wisdom's daughter and the son of the sea. Sworn enemies, although not for long," The woman cackles, sounding like she's hacking up a lung. "Oh, what the Fates have planned… you are only the first, children. Only the first of them all."

"Wait, what?" Annabeth looks confused, which doesn't happen very often. "How do you know all this? Who are you?" She lifts a hand as if to lift the sheet, but I bat her arm away. When she turns to give me an inquisitive look, I shrug.

"Something tells me she doesn't like you much," I grin a little, leaning back against a stack of dusty boxes. "But obviously she's fallen for my stellar looks, and amazing charm."

"Oh, shut up, Percy!" Annabeth is frustrated, I can tell. She begins to pace back and forth, turning her back away from the figure behind the sheet, who has fallen still yet again. "There must be some logic to her words. Maybe a code? Maybe it's a code associated with the Mark, and the coin translates it?"

"Or maybe," I interject, looking towards the sheet. There's odd smoke billowing out from underneath it, almost green in colour. "Maybe you should turn around and just let her speak. It looks like she's been planning this dramatic presentation for a while."

Annabeth whirls back around, her mouth open, but upon seeing the green smoke she abruptly shuts it, inching closer towards me. Her arm brushes against mine for a split second, and I stiffen, even that simple gesture sending tingles through my body. We stand there, the two of us, the smoke swirling around, before finally the figure behind the sheet rises and turns to face us, everything but her outline still concealed. I can see her face lengthen as her jaw opens, before she begins to speak yet again.

"_A few to begin, far more to end, the three will gain both foes and friends. From blue to gold, they leave the ground, a terrible fate awaits them at touchdown. Intentions are wrong, the truth's far worse, wisdom will chose who will be first. Never alone, but without the guidance of a mother, two will make a terrible blunder. All must rise, together as one, to defeat the master, when all else is done." _The Oracle's voice lilts up and down as she speaks, the words sounding like she'd recited them a thousand times before.

Annabeth jerks back as if slapped. "Was that… was that the Great Prophecy?"

Almost imperceptibly, the figure nods, the green smoke beginning to dissipate. "Yes, child. You are the Saviors of Olympus, come at last."

"I don't understand," I should probably be pissing myself in terror right now, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins disguises that at the moment. "What does this have to do with the Mark of Athena? And why are we saviors?"

The Oracle laughs her high-pitched cackle again. "You shall see, my dear boy. But before I leave this spirit, allow me to present you with some advice. Find the girl named Ella in Portland, Oregon. She will have all the answers you need."

"Oregon?" Annabeth furrows her brow. "That's a two day drive!"

"It will take you much longer than two days, saviors," The woman behind the sheet sits back down, and ceases movement yet again. Clearly, that's all we're getting out of her. I turn around, expecting Annabeth to be already moving back down the stairs, but instead she's staring at the white sheet with a determined expression. Before I can stop her, she darts forwards, grabbing the sheet and pulling it back to reveal the Oracle.

Well, what's left of the Oracle.

Annabeth screams, as do I, backing away from the figure as fast as we can. Behind the sheet lies a skeleton, bandages trailing off her arms and an ornate dress covering her figure. Her skull is bare, mouth a gaping hole. A spider crawls out of the left eyehole, only causing Annabeth to scream louder. I remember her intense fear of spiders from when we were kids, and a primitive instinct causes me to wrap my arms around her shaking form as we both gape at the figure that we could have sworn spoke to us a moment ago.

"May… maybe it's a hallucination," Annabeth's struggling to think logically. I nod, knowing nothing else would make any sense. Even on a crazy trip like this, skeleton's don't come to life and spew life-changing prophecies. "Yeah, it's all in our minds, that's all." She sounds like she's trying to talk herself into her theory.

The Oracle, who had sat still up until this point, now raises one bony hand at us and waves her fingers almost mockingly, as if taking delight in our terror. Annabeth screams even louder, grabbing the first object she sees- a rusted knife- and pointing it at the pile of bones in front of us. I try to keep my grip around her waist, but I'm shaking so hard myself that it's hard to restrain her. The Oracle looks right towards me and grins, her actual skull molding before my very eyes into a grotesque smile.

I'm not sure if it's the intense fear I'm feeling or lack of sleep or just the plain bizarreness of this whole situation, but at that moment, my knees buckle out from underneath me and I fall, my head hitting the floor hard.

My vision goes black, and I could swear Annabeth's screams get louder as I trail off into a blissful sleep.

When I open my eyes again, I'm on a beach.

It's clearly a dream, even though everything feels so real. The sun shines on my face, my skin heating up instantaneously from the warmth. The sand that I'm currently sitting on scratches the back of my legs, getting in between my toes. Birds fly overhead, and a light breeze ruffles the otherwise serene landscape.

I'm not sure where I am- somewhere fairly south. There's no one else around for miles, although vacant tourist shops and playgrounds litter the beach. I stand up, brushing sand off of my swim trunks, and turn around to get a full view of my surroundings.

I jerk back in surprise as the rear end of a statue greets me. From the back, it looks like any famous figure, but as I walk around I realize that it's a statue of Neptune, God of the Sea. I remember my mom telling me stories about him when I was younger, plus, it says the name on the handy plaque in front of it. With a grin, I begin to walk away to explore. I'm not sure why I'm here, but the beach is one of my favourite places on Earth and I'm not about to let an opportunity like this, even if it's just in a dream, pass me by.

"So, I hear you like the ocean," I turn to see a figure leaning against the Neptune statue, dressed in shorts and a Hawaiian print shirt. His green eyes scan over the statue, lips tugging upward at the ends as if remembering a funny joke. "I had hoped you would. I mean, you couldn't have gotten all your genes from Sally."

I stare at him in shock, barely able to contain my shock. "Dad?" I've never actually seen my real dad- he left my mom before I was born. However, one day when I was around seven, I was looking for where my mother had hidden my Christmas presents and I came across an old photo shoved underneath her bed, one that showed her and a man standing on this very same boardwalk. She had been laughing, holding hands with the same man that now stood in front of me now… Anger begins to replace my shock. "So now you show up in my freaking dream. Nice. Can't even visit your own son in real life." I know this is all in my head, but trust me, I have a lot of pent-up anger directed at the man in front of me, and I'm going to get it out even if this is just a figment of my imagination.

"Percy, please," My father steps away from the statue of Neptune, hands held out in front of him as if attempting to placate me. "I know you're angry at me right now, but I need you to trust me. I can help you on your quest."

I laugh bitterly. "Then where was this 'help' when Gabe beat my mom? Where was this 'help' when we were penniless? You aren't my Dad. You've never been in my life, and the closest thing I have to a father right now is Paul, who, I might add, if doing a much better job at the role than you ever would. I can handle this quest alone. Annabeth knows what she's doing."

My father winces, but I'm not sure what part of my statement he's reacting to. "Percy, just hear me out. Annabeth is leading you astray. The quest is all wrong."

"Why do you care?" I mutter, kicking at the sand by my feet. "If I die, it's just less weight on your conscience. Annabeth is smart, and I'm going to help her find the secret to the Mark of Athena. You don't need to get involved in any of this.

With a sigh, my father runs his hand along the base of the statue. "You know, Percy, after all that girl put you through, I would have hoped you would have more common sense about this whole ordeal. But clearly, both you and her are still as infatuated with one another as you were before-"

"Don't you dare mention that," I stalk towards the man, hands in my pockets. "I hate her, alright? And she hates me. We're just doing this because otherwise, the world will end. We're the Heroes of Olympus, after all."

My father chuckles, but there is no mirth in his voice. "Oh, I see. That's why. Alright, son, you keep on believing that. But if you want real family- people who won't betray you or leave you, who will love you unconditionally- go to Virginia Beach. Find this statue. All the answers will be there."

With that, he abruptly disappears, leaving nothing more behind than a faint sea breeze.

* * *

**Yeah, a ridiculous amount of stuff happened in this chapter. Hope you all liked my portrayal of Chiron, Poseidon, and the Oracle- they were all so fun to write! We'll be introducing a couple new characters next chapter, as well as some information on Annabeth's backstory, so stay tuned for that!**

**There may be a bit of a delay between this update and the next because my aunt is getting a really big surgery tomorrow and depending on how it goes, I probably won't be around much. Plus, my math teacher's a bitch that's assigning us piles of homework no one understands, so I have that to deal with too. I'll let you guys know on Tumblr and on the 'News' section at the top of my profile what's going on!**

**Hope you all enjoyed the Olympics! Canada owned at hockey, let me tell you. And also curling, which I don't get at all, but still... **

**Thanks for reading, **

**-Jace ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Long time no see, right? I think I'm actually getting pretty good at this whole 'fast updating' thing, so that's great news for you guys!**

**Thanks for all your well-wishes on my aunt's surgery- it went really well! She's at home now, recovering, but I passed along your kind words and she really appreciated it.**

**Anyways, thanks to my awesome reviewers from the last chapter- SomethingMoreCreative, Burned Blue Cookie, Mila-is-a-bookwork101, and ConstantCutie. Thanks for your amazingly kind words!**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

_Annabeth_

The next morning, I wake up feeling extremely disoriented.

There's light shining through my window, as usual, and the clatter of plates downstairs signifies my stepmom's making breakfast. My alarm clock beeps frantically from beside me, and I reach out an arm to shut it off. Warm flesh meets my hand, and I gasp, my eyes flying open as I sit up.

Percy Jackson is lying beside me, drool escaping the left corner of his mouth as he snores. Everything comes back to me in one big blur now- the dogs, escaping from my home, the Mark of Athena burning my palm, coming to Camp Half-Blood Tourism, Chiron, our conversation with the oracle, Percy fainting from exhaustion up in the attic. I groan, hoping it had all been a bad dream, before locating Percy's phone, tucked away in his sweatshirt pocket, and the actual item making all the noise. I carefully pull it out, making sure not to jostle his sleeping form, with the intent of putting it on silent before returning to my slumber. The picture on the screen, however, makes me stop. It's Sally and I, hugging and laughing at whoever's taking the photo. The caption up above reads _Mom. _Obviously, they've discovered we're missing.

I stare at the picture for a while, watching as Sally calls again, and again, and again, obviously frantic to know the whereabouts of her son. I feel a pang shoot through my heart as I realize the stress we're going to be putting our families through, before shaking my head and reverting back to my normal logical state. We'll have to get rid of these phones soon, though. It'll be too easy to track us if we keep them.

Percy groans and rolls over, sounding extremely agitated. I come closer to him for one moment, wondering if he's having a nightmare and if I should wake him, but quickly dismiss that thought. Percy can do whatever he wants. I'm not going to dote on him any longer. He rolls over again, drool smearing onto his pillow, and mutters out a few incoherent mumbles. One of them stands out, however, and sends me reeling back yet again.

"Annabeth," Percy mutters, still obviously in his restless slumber. He falls silent for a bit after that, and I begin to relax when he begins to thrash around yet again, arms and legs flailing everywhere. "No! Stop! Come back!" I back up, more than a little worried about what's going on. Hesitantly, I shake his shoulder once, then twice. The flailing abruptly ceases as Percy's eyes dart open, strangely dilated in a way that makes the green pop even more.

"Hi," I say in way of greeting, tucking a messy strand of hair behind my ear. I suddenly feel self-conscious, although I'm not sure why. "Feel any better?"

Percy gazes at me in surprise. "Okay, three questions. One, where are we, two, why are we in the same bed, and three, why are we in the same bed and I'm not dead yet?" He rubs the corner of his mouth, cursing when it comes away damp. "Crap, I was drooling, wasn't I?"

I shrug, the corner of my mouth lifting slightly. "I've told you a million times, you drool when you sleep. And anyways, you're at Camp Half-Blood Tourism, we're in the same bed because you fainted after seeing the Oracle and someone had to make sure you didn't die during the night and lastly, do you really think I would kill you? I need you for this quest." My words sound harsh, but I can't go giving him any false hope. Trust me, it never ends well.

Percy groans, lifting himself into a sitting position. "Of course I fainted." The sarcasm practically drips off of his tongue.

"Don't worry, it was a very manly faint," I assure him, clambering out of bed and stretching. My t-shirt rides up a bit as I do, and I catch Percy's cheeks heating up just a tiny bit before I yank it back down. "You didn't even swoon. Just one minute you were hugging me while I screamed into your ear- sorry about that, by the way- and then you were on the ground." I don't mention that I began hyperventilating after he fainted, or that I almost sobbed when I couldn't find his pulse for a second, or that by the time Grover and Chiron got up there, I was a wreck. I simply grab jeans from my bag and an orange t-shirt from Chiron and head over to the small shared washroom. "I'm going to go and get dressed, and then we can eat. Your mom called at least thirty times, by the way. We'll destroy the phone soon."

I leave Percy sitting dumbfounded on the bed, however, by the time I return, dressed and with my hair shoved into a messy ponytail, he's nowhere to be found. His jeans from yesterday, however, are tossed lazily on the ground, along with his t-shirt, fish-printed boxers, and one lone sock. I'm happy Grover brought in our bags last night before we all passed out, meaning I don't have to walk around in my dirty clothes from yesterday, but at the same time, I think we'll need to be stopping several times to do laundry. The Oracle said our quest would take a lot more than two days, and I definitely did not pack enough clothes for that into my bag.

There are voices coming from downstairs, so I begin to traipse down the rickety staircase, following the noise to a tiny pavilion set up with several picnic tables and a small buffet. Everywhere is crammed with people of all ages, and I realize that this place must also be a small hotel, for lost travellers and people looking to get a bargain alike. Percy and Grover, now both clean and rested, are sitting at one of the farthest picnic benches, talking animatedly to a middle-aged couple across from them. I smile as I approach with my full plate, squeezing onto the bench next to Percy- the last available spot.

"Oh, well look at you," The woman across from me smiles, after I've said hello and everyone's made their introductions. "You're just the prettiest thing, you know. You're very lucky to have her, young man." The last part of her statement is directed at Percy, who immediately blushes and begins stammering out a response as Grover guffaws.

"Um, oh, Annabeth and I aren't dating…" Percy's cheeks are bright red, as are mine. Grover's still laughing, but Percy extends his leg sideways to connect with the other boy's knee and the chuckling stops abruptly.

"Really?" The woman looks at the two of us curiously, ignoring her husband's gentle prompts to stay out of it. "Well, it's obvious by the way you two look at one another that if you aren't together already, you're going to be very soon. True love, that's what it is. Trust me." She smiles at us before standing up and clearing her plate, before leading her husband out of the pavilion.

I move over to the now vacated side of the bench, happy for the room to breathe. That was ridiculously awkward, so I attempt to fill the silence before someone could bring up what just happened. "Okay, so I assume we all know the plan? We go cross-country, travelling by car because we'll obviously get caught if we fly, and plus, Percy doesn't like planes. Then, once we reach Portland, we find Ella and the secret, bring them back to my mother, and everyone's happy."

Grover nods, obviously satisfied with my rough outline, but Percy's hand begins drumming on the table nervously, before he finally speaks up. "Um, I think we might have to take a little… detour, actually."

I blink twice, staring at him incredulously. "What do you mean, a detour? Percy, we obviously need to go to Oregon, now! That's what the Oracle said!"

Percy scratches the back of his neck, annoyance brimming just below the surface. "Well, my Dad, he, uh, visited me in my dream. I know it sounds crazy-"

Grover snorts. "Oh, are you kidding me? Just yesterday your van almost exploded, Annabeth could have been mauled by killer dogs, there's a creepy talking mummy living in the attic, and apparently we're the saviors of Olympus, whatever that means," Seeing Percy's frustrated expression, he quickly clears his throat. "Sorry. Carry on."

"_Anyways," _Percy continues, pausing to shove a slice of orange into his mouth. Some of the juice dribbles down his chin, making him seem more childish than ever, despite his serious expression. "He says I need to find the Neptune statue at Virginia Beach if I want to meet some of my real family."

"Virginia Beach?" I cock my head to the side. "As in, the Virginia Beach that's pretty much in the opposite direction than where we need to go? Sorry, Percy, but no. It was probably just a hallucination. You did hit your head pretty hard."

"So when your dead mother shows up in Mr. D's office, it's logical, but when my Dad tells me to meet my family in a dream, it's a hallucination?" Percy scowls. "Annabeth, you're being a hypocrite. You know better than anyone else what it's like to have a screwed up family. And now you got to meet your birth mom. I'm not sure who this 'family' member is, but I want to see them. Wouldn't you?"

Grover, who has been fiddling with his wooden pipes this whole time, finally chooses this moment to speak up. "I think we should check out Virginia Beach, Annabeth. I mean, according to what you guys said, the journey's supposed to take much longer than two days. Don't you think that's kind of a sign?"

I rub my temples, the mundane chatter going on around me contrasting greatly with our insane conversation. "Guys. No detours. Let's stick to the plan."

"Majority rules," Percy sing-songs, his hand tapping faster on the table. I don't want to dampen his mood- we actually got along pretty well this morning- but I need to find the secret to the Mark of Athena. Who knows how long Ella would be there? Percy and Grover have started to discuss the fastest route to Virginia Beach, much to my dismay, and I realize that I have to seize back my control, before it's too late.

I open my mouth to speak, but before I can get a word out, I notice Chiron, wheeling his way over towards us. And, walking alongside him, hands shoved carelessly into his pockets, is…

_ No. It couldn't be._

Percy and Grover seem to notice my lack of protest, and both of their heads swivel into the direction where I'm staring. They both appear confused, but no obvious recognition sparks on either of their faces. I glance down at my plate, trying to focus on anything else- my still aching hand from the coin's burn, how nice and sunny it is outside, how Percy's face looks when he's confused- but my mind wanders to the memories anyways, memories that I've never let be unleashed until now.

_A playground, climbing up the hill to reach it. Three kids, laughing and racing to see who will be the first one there. The two older ones, one in black and one grinning, pull the little girl along, her blonde ponytail flying in the wind._

Chiron reaches the table, smiling at all three of us. The boy- I suppose he's a man now, really- looks at all of us carefully, before his eyes land on me. They flicker with recognition for a second, before dissolving into the hurt I'm oh-so familiar with feeling.

"Chiron," Percy looks a bit surprised that the man's come to talk with us personally. "Good to see you again. Who's your friend?"

_A rock, soaring through the air. It hits the smaller girl, and, with a cry, she falls to the ground as the older two rush to her aid, checking her for injuries. A maniac cackle sounds._

"This," Chiron gestures the man forward, and I pray for his name to be anything else than the one that I haven't heard for years. "Is Luke Castellan. He's an old friend of mine that knows all about the Mark of Athena. I talked to him about you three, the start of the Great Prophecy, and he wants to help." Percy and Grover smile at this, but my face stays blank, unexpressive. It's a skill I learned long ago, one to help me keep my flawless mask on at all times.

_Two boys, big and muscular, step out from the brush at the bottom of the hill. The three children stare, terrified as the boys lumber towards them, the cackling getting louder and louder. The oldest child, a boy, steps in front of the two girls as if trying to protect them, but the older girl lets out an irritated growl and moves to stand beside him. The blonde child sits on the ground behind them, trembling._

"So you know about the secret to the Mark of Athena?" Grover grins up at the man. "That's great! We've been trying to find out more, but everything's super jumbled and the prophecy doesn't make any sense. All we have is the coin- show him the coin, Annabeth."

I don't move, my hands tightening on the edges of the bench. Luke Castellan looks towards me, more than a little apprehensive. "Her name is Annabeth?"

_ "Annabeth, stay back," The older boy demands, pulling a pocketknife from his pants. The girl standing beside him gasps, snatching it away._

_ "What are you doing?" She hisses, as the two bullies come closer. "You could get sent to jail for that, you know!" The little blonde girl watches them in confusion. She never knew her friend had a knife before, or that he carried it with him. The bullies loom closer, closer… the little girl shudders, clambering to her feet._

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Percy replies hotly, and I feel a sense of thanks wash over me. "Anyways, what do you know about the coin?"

Luke grins, and I notice a scar stretching across one side of his face. He didn't have that before. "Well, sport, I'm afraid I'll have to show you it. It's not something you can just tell people. Where are you guys headed? I'll come with."

_"Where are three little kiddies like you headed on such a gorgeous day?" The first bully sneers at them, and the blonde girl sees the girl dressed in black, the toughest person she knows, tremble. It scares her that even the people she trusts the most are terrified. "The park? Oh, well that's a shame. You're never going to make it."_

_ The boy makes a move towards the bully, but the older girl grabs his hood and pulls him back. The little girl slides her fingers into those of each of her companions, feeling the sweat pooling on their palms. The two bullies laugh at this display, circling them as would a lion to its prey. "Luke, take Annabeth and run. I'll hold them back." The girl in the black demands, her fingers slipping away from the little girl._

Percy looks toward Chiron, as if asking for permission, and the older man nods. "It's alright, Percy. Luke is very trustworthy. He's been a good friend of mine for quite some time." I look towards Luke and feel an urge to run and to blush all at the same time. Whatever my feelings were when I was younger, they certainly haven't changed much over time, although the circumstances sure have.

"We're heading to Virginia Beach, then," Percy seems satisfied by Chiron's response. "I got a message from my Dad- in, uh, my dream- saying we should go there. And then the Oracle said we should go to Oregon after that."

_"No!" The blonde girl screams, but the older girl's already raced forward, hands balled into fists. The older boy trembles, making a move to go after the girl, but it's too late. The bully picks her up by her throat and slams her against the tree, making her cry out in pain. The blonde child and the boy can only watch, helpless, as the bullies walk away, leaving the older girl crumpled on the ground, bent at awkward angles._

_ The boy races towards the older girl, and begins sobbing as he cradles her face, her eyes unseeing. Screams sound all around. The little girl is frozen, unable to move._

I'm frozen, unable to move, as everyone's gaze swivels towards me. I shrink back onto the bench, letting out a startled yelp. "Sorry, what did you just say?" The memory finishes, although the screams are still a haunting melody swirling around in my head. "I zoned out for a second."

"More like five minutes," Percy looks at me, concerned. "You feeling alright? We were up pretty late."

Their worry for me just fills me with annoyance. That was just a moment of weakness, something that I shouldn't have thought about in the first place. "I'm fine; I just remembered something from a long time ago. What's the plan?"

Grover still looks hesitant, but he begins relaying our plan anyways. "Well, Luke agrees with us about going to Virginia Beach. I know you don't want to, but we think that maybe if you were to look at it from another angle you would reconsider…"

I cut him off. "We can hit Virginia Beach first. I don't mind. Here, I'll go and get the car ready." I walk out of the pavilion quickly, away from Chiron and Grover, away from Percy, away from Luke, desperate to leave those bad memories behind. It's only when I reach our room again that I stop, cradling my head between my knees, one voice still filling my mind.

Luke's voice, from a long time ago, hoarse as he cradles the unmoving body of the girl he loves.

The body of twelve-year old Thalia Grace.

* * *

**Raise your hand if you were expecting that.**

**So… yeah. We're throwing some drama into the mix, which means everyone's favourite stereotyped jealous Percy comes into play next chapter! Sorry guys, couldn't resist. I hope the end wasn't too confusing- it was meant to befuddle you a bit, but I think I made it pretty obvious what went down.**

**I had a ton of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed! Coming up next: some Canadians, more info on Percy's dream, and a lot of pointless jealous Percy… so stay tuned for that!**

**Reviews are amazing and beautiful creations- please, please, please do not favourite or follow without leaving a review! It really makes my day, guys.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**

**PS: I'm participating in the PJO Big Bang, so next update may potentially take more than a week. I promise no more than two, though!**


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been a little longer than I intended it to be, and I apologize for that. I did post my reasons for the delay on my profile and Tumblr, so hopefully some of you got the message. Most of this chapter was typed in the back of a car, so sorry for it's general shittiness.**

**That being said, the response for the last chapter was absolutely overwhelming and incredible. So, thanks to bxexlxlxa, henrie locker, Rosario Central, Guest, Guest, mila-is-a-bookworm-101, Burned Blue Cookie and SomethingMoreCreative. I love you all and sorry if I didn't respond to your PM's yet!**

**I hate this chapter. I really do. So, I apologize in advance, on behalf of myself and all of Canada.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

_Percy_

"Luke, what the hell are we listening to? It sounds horrible," I groan from the backseat, where I'm sprawled sideways. Beside me, pressed up against the window, Grover nods in agreement, looking up from the pipes he's been fiddling with all day. It's mid-afternoon now, and we've almost reached Virginia Beach.

Annabeth shoots me a glare from the passenger side, lifting her face up from her sketchpad for the briefest of moments. "Oh, shut up, Percy. We're almost there, anyways. Why does it matter what music we listen to?"

I scowl, but don't respond, sinking further into the seat. Normally on long car rides, I would play on my phone until it died, but Annabeth had driven over everyone's cellphones before we left so that we couldn't be tracked, leaving me completely and utterly annoyed. Besides, Annabeth and Luke had been talking in low, hushed tones for the past two hours, complete with flirty giggles and little touches. For Gods sakes, he's seven years older than her! And now she's agreeing with him about this horrible music, even though I know for a fact that she hates rock with a passion.

Luckily, Grover, seeing my furious expression, quickly leans towards the front of the car and flips the radio station to a different channel, claiming that his eardrums shouldn't have to suffer so much. Instantly, Jesse McCartney's voice comes blaring out of the speakers, a ridiculously old song playing- Beautiful Soul.

I can see Annabeth stiffen in the front seat, and my own shoulders tighten a fair bit as the song progresses. Our Grade 8 graduation, someone had requested this and Annabeth and I had been shoved together by mutual friends to dance. It had been awkward at first, with me being a klutz and stepping on her feet, and her desperately try to make conversation, but then her head was on my chest, and we were swaying back and forth, and it was that precise moment I realized I was head over heels in love with my best friend.

And you can see just how well that worked out.

Luke takes one hand off the wheel, and begins to move it towards Annabeth as an irrational jealousy overtakes me. Annabeth can be with whoever she wants. It's none of my business anymore. However, that doesn't stop me from barking out, "Hey! Both hands on the wheel!"

Everyone swivels around to face me, looking confused, and I feel my cheeks redden. "I mean, um, Luke, you should probably drive with both hands. You could… you could run over… a… llama otherwise." I mentally facepalm. Nice. Since when have there been llamas in Virginia, or anywhere in the USA, for that matter?

"Er, alright, dude," Luke shrugs, placing both hands back on the wheel. "You guys want to grab a bite to eat before we stop by the beach?"

I scowl at his laid-back attitude, expecting him to at least inquire a little more about my sudden outburst. However, before I can make a snarky comeback, I catch Annabeth's eye. It's a warning, one that tells me that I need to get over whatever animosity I have for Luke so he can continue helping us. As usual, her point is ridiculously valid, so with a scowl I simply nod, staring out of the window. "Sure, I'm up for a burger."

Luke nods, and within minutes we've pulled into the parking lot of an old-fashioned diner, complete with pastel coloured booths and a checkered floor. There's no drive-through, so we quickly park the minivan and walk inside, to find the place practically deserted. I suppose that makes sense, though. It's only around three in the afternoon- too late for lunch, too early for dinner.

I get delegated as responsible for ordering everything, so by the time I make my way back to the booth Annabeth and Luke have already claimed one side for themselves. I toss the tray onto the table, almost making the contents spill, before sulkily sliding in next to Grover. Annabeth and Luke's history, whatever it is, is quickly making me feel like the awkward third wheel.

"Mmmm…." Annabeth grins into her chocolate-strawberry milkshake, the top of it frothing on her upper lip. "I haven't had one of these in forever."

"What are you talking about?" I ask her, confused. "The café across from the school is always selling them! You used to get them every day after school!" Annabeth's face freezes, and I realize what I've just said. She probably hadn't been to the café since our falling-out. "I mean, umm, never mind."

Luke looks confused, and I feel relief for a brief second. Annabeth still hasn't told Luke about our history. She doesn't fully trust him yet, which makes my childishly one-up him in my mind. This is ridiculous. I'm hating on a guy who's been nothing but friendly to us! Annabeth is a big girl, and any feelings I once had for her are long gone. She's smart enough to make her own choices.

The bell over the door jingles, shaking me out of my thoughts as a group of large, buff men dressed in flannel shirts push through the door. One of them has an axe attached to his belt, and a few others carry small knives. I swallow down my worry. This may have nothing to do with us. These guys are probably looking for a quick place to grab a bite, same as us.

The man with the axe grunts something to the girl behind the counter, and she nods, punching it in to the register. I'm not sure, but it sounds a lot like he said, "fingers, with blood on the side". I turn back towards my friends, but all of them are still enjoying their meal, oblivious to these new arrivals. I'm probably just overthinking this whole thing. Annabeth would have caught on by now if something was actually wrong.

As if on cue, Annabeth jumps as if scalded, and I realize she probably has been, as she pulls the piping hot coin from her pocket yet again. Gods, if Athena was so worried about us getting hurt, then why didn't she make sure that her magical beacon wasn't burning her daughter, one of the saviors of the world and a hero of the great prophecy?

That had to be one of the strangest sentences I've ever thought of. And that includes the time I thought that the East and Hudson rivers were talking to me.

"What is it?" Luke looks towards Annabeth, concerned, and I bite my tongue to keep myself from lashing out again. Of course she's hurt, dumbass. You don't need to ask her. Annabeth just shakes her head dismissively, grabbing an ice cube from a glass of water and placing it against her burnt hand yet again. She looks fine on the outside, calm and collected as always, but I can tell that she's realized something about our new 'visitors', judging by the way her eyes continuously flick over.

"Hey," Grover's finally caught on to what's going on, and he leans in a bit to whisper to the three of us. "Those guys over there… what are they eating? It looks like blood." I nod, staring at their trays, with are covered in some thin, slender deep-fried meat with a drippy red sauce on the side. Fingers and blood.

Luke snorts, leaning back carelessly against the edge of the booth. "You know what they looks like to me? Cannibalistic Canadians. I mean, look! They're giant, dressed like lumberjacks, and eating fried human body parts. They only look like that up North, eh." He lets out a chortle, but it dies abruptly, as a knife flies through the air, landing inches from Annabeth's face. She gulps, carefully prying it out of the wall, as the 'Canadians' stomp over to us, size fourteen work boots covering the diner floor in mud.

"What did you just call us?" The front one, with the axe, leers in Luke's general direction, who in turn looks like he's pissing himself. "Huh? Want to say that again to my face, pretty boy, or should I give you another scar to match the one already there?"

Annabeth stands up, holding her knife at arm's length. "Alright, gentleman, back off. My friend here wasn't trying to offend you. He was just making a joke." Her gaze never falters as she stares up at the giant Canadian, and I realize that out of all the people at this table, she's probably the bravest one out of all of us. I never would have had the guts to stand up to these guys, and yet Annabeth's doing it like it's a breeze, grey eyes dark and cold.

"So you think our heritage is a joke?" Another man to the side shoots spittle all over the table as he speaks. "Damn Americans, thinking you run the whole world. Well, I'll tell you something, little lady. If you want our help, you better stop offending us."

I finally find my voice and pipe up, "Help? Like, with our quest?"

The man in front lets out a barking laugh. "No, boy, with your laundry," Seeing my puzzled expression, he continues, "Never thought the savior would be so dumb. Anyways, we were sent from the old lady. She reminds you to think about your true objectives, and what the cost is for losing focus at the task at hand."

Although that phrase could have multiple connotations, I feel like it's Athena taking a jab at Luke and Annabeth's incessant flirting, which makes me grin for a brief moment. "Alright, uh, thanks. We'll let you get back to your meal, then."

"Hold on, kiddies," A man from the middle of the mob unsheathes his knife. I glance around the diner in worry, but it seems like the few other guests and servers have all disappeared, leaving us completely alone. "We did what we were paid to do. But you all are important, and well, we have multiple loyalties to obey. It's time for dinner."

"T-t-technically speaking, it's only three thirty, so…" Grover trails off as four daggers are suddenly pointed at the end of the wispy beard on his chin. "My apologies. Carry on."

"With pleasure," The man snarls, and within seconds, our booth is surrounded. I shoot a helpless look at Annabeth, who looks like she's lost deep in calculations. Luke just looks terrified, and Grover is still fiddling with those ridiculous reed pipes.

I shoot him a glare, fidgeting for my own pen/bomb in my pocket. "Seriously, dude, could you just put those down for one second? We're kind of in the middle of something here." Grover looks at me, as if telling me that he knows what he's doing, and right before the first man lunges towards us, he lifts the pipes up and begins to play Hillary Duff's 'So Yesterday'.

Annabeth and Luke look over at him in surprise, as all of the men surrounding us begin laughing. I wince, my hand closed over the top of my pen. Grover's just embarrassing himself. If he doesn't stop soon, I'll have to blow this place up.

And then the first man falls to the ground, clutching his ears and twitching before going unconscious. His comrades look at him in surprise, before they, too, are all knocked off their feet one by one, until the four of us are surrounded by a pile of still bodies. I gape at Grover in shock. "Mind explaining to me what the hell just happened?"

Grover shrugs. "That was the song I played to my hamster when I knocked it unconscious. I figured it would work on those guys too."

I grin somewhat maniacally, lunging towards the other boy and giving him a brief hug. I'm not a hugger by any means, but the fact that Grover managed to come up with a way to knock a group of Cannibalistic Canadians unconscious while the rest of us merely quaked in terror makes me want to give him a quick squeeze. "Grover, you're amazing, you know that?"

Grover looks down at the ground as he carefully hoists himself to his feet, adjusting his crutches. It occurs to me suddenly that he probably doesn't actually know that at all. Based off just my time around him (which hasn't been that long, mind you), and even back at school, he was the one who was always picked last for groups, who had to be the awkward person left alone for projects. I judged him before knowing him, as most of our student body did, and honestly, now that I know him better, that was a big mistake I really want to take back. I clear my throat, realizing the awkward silence that has just fallen. "Um, let's get going now, okay?"

We begin to make our way back to the van when Annabeth grabs my arm and pulls me to the side, motioning for Luke and Grover to go on ahead. Her fingernails dig into my arm as we walk over to a clump of bushes, stomping through the thick undergrowth before finally we're out of sight from the van. "What was that?" Annabeth hisses, kicking a tree stump angrily. "You just about let Grover get killed by crazy Canadian lumberjacks!"

"Hey, I didn't see you defending him either!" I retort, although it's only half-hearted. It isn't her fault, not really. "But, now that we're on the subject about being defensive, what happened at breakfast this morning? You seriously can't think we didn't notice."

Annabeth's face pales. "It's none of your business, Percy. I'm fine now, right?"

I sigh, rubbing my temples. "Was there a reason for dragging me out here, or did you just want to discuss Grover, which, might I add, is a discussion we could have had back in the van?" I know there's another reason she dragged me out into the woods. Annabeth's nothing if but a strategist, and by the way she dragged me out of the line of sight from the van, I can tell she has something she needs to talk to me about in private.

"Um… I needed to talk to you about Luke, actually," Annabeth runs a hand through her curly hair and scowls. "Percy, I know that he may not be your favourite person in the world…"

I snort loudly. "Really? What gave you that idea?"

Annabeth shoots me a glare before continuing. "But we need him if we're ever going to find the secret to the Mark of Athena. Chiron trusts him, he knows what he's doing, and besides, the prophecy said we'll make new friends, right? That's probably why Luke is here. The Oracle predicted it, and despite my feelings of all of that being mumbo-jumbo, there's no way they could have faked that skeleton. Luke's meant to be here, Percy."

"As a friend or a foe?" I mutter, kicking the ground. "Did you see him back in there? He's the one that provoked the giant Canadians, and then he didn't even help at all when we were being attacked. Besides, you just want him to stay because you have a ridiculous crush on him."

"I do not have a crush on Luke!" Annabeth looks around quickly, as if making sure no one heard her outburst. "We just have history from when we were little. Before even you and I met." She bites her lip. I don't know much about Annabeth's past, although we've been friends since Grade 6. All I know is that she moved to New York when she was eight, but I never found out why.

"You know there's seven years age difference between you two, right?" I roll my eyes, leaning back against the tree stump. "You're sixteen, he's twenty-three. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you? Liking an older man?" I'm purposely provoking her at this point, but hey, sue me for wanting to wind her up a little.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "We're friends, that's all. And we've been through a lot together. There's no reason for you to get unnecessarily jealous."

My responding laugh is too false, to brittle. My palms begin to get sweaty, and my t-shirt collar feels too tight. She's jabbing at any weak spot she can find, which I suppose is fair. After all, I did do the same to her. However, jealous or not, I can't let her get the upper hand. "Jealous? Of Luke? Honestly, Annabeth, if you like him, then I give you both my best wishes. I'm over you. I hate you. You hate me. That's the way the world is now, and like it or not, there's no going back."

There's a crack behind us, and Luke approaches our clearing, looking unapologetic. "Those guys at the diner are beginning to come to, so I figured that we should get going before we get mobbed by angry Canadians. You two done talking about… whatever it is you needed to figure out?"

Annabeth nods stiffly, grabbing Luke's hand and dragging him out of the clearing. "Yep. It's all figured out now." Her eyes, which had been gradually softening around me for last little bit, are hard and cool yet again. In trying to save my own skin, I may have accidentally sent myself back to the start, the point of no return. I know I should be happy- Annabeth and I getting close has proved to be a recipe for disaster before, and there's no way I want to revisit the big blow-up two months prior- but instead another emotion threatens to engulf me. I can't quite place it, however, so I settle for angrily stalking back to the van, buckling myself in next to Grover in the back. Luke starts the car, and once again, we're back on the busy interstate, signs telling us that Virginia Beach is very near.

After a while of listening to Luke's annoying rock music yet again, the car stops, and I'm out before the ignition even clicks off. This is it. It won't be just me and my mom anymore. I'm going to have an uncle, or maybe a cousin, or maybe even grandparents. I'm going to go and see my family.

This thought entertains me as I begin to walk along the busy boardwalk, ignoring my three companions, who are a little ways back. Street vendors shove food in my face, loud music blares from stores, and tourists all over snap photographs, but I only have one thing on my mind as the Neptune statue appears in my line of sight. It looks exactly how it did in my dream, only now there's countless people posing beside it. I study them all, one by one. Maybe the girl with the long black hair? Or the man with the green eyes?

"Brother?"

Or it could be the five-year old boy toddling towards me.

* * *

**I wonder who that could be… the next chapter's going to be fun to write! And the lumberjack part… it was based loosely off of the scene at the beginning of Sea of Monsters, but I really don't know. No offense to any Canadians, cannibals, or lumberjacks! **

**I'll try and get another chapter up soon, but… life. I have this massive Science project to do, which is gonna consume a lot of time. Also, I flunked my last Math quiz, so if I'm not on for a little while that means I've been grounded/am hiding in terror/dead because my parents will go ballistic when they see, and we're getting reports on Monday, so….**

**Can you tell I'm terrified?**

**Anyways, enough about me. I hope you enjoyed!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! Decently fast update today, yay! School's *hopefully* going to start easing up soon!**

**Anyways, you guys (and gals) are so amazing, you know that? You're all super supportive and fun and I love reading your reviews and PM-ing with y'all, so thanks. Also, thanks to the lovely reviewers themselves, SomethingMoreCreative, bxexlxlxa, Burned Blue Cookie, henrie locker, TheKookieKing11, Mila-is-a-bookworm-101, Lolabeth, Heyitsthecats, and ConstantCutie. **

**This chapter was a pain in the ass to start, as I had severe writer's block and ended up writing 5 different beginnings to this chapter. I then decided to do something on a whim (the flashback), which ended up being really, really personal for me. It got easier near the end, so hopefully the quality's better there. **

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**-o-o-pj&ac-o-o-**

Chapter 7

_Annabeth_

For April, Virginia Beach is surprisingly warm, people clad in shorts and the occasional swimsuit as the hot sun beats down on us all. There's a faint breeze blowing off of the water, mingling with the smell of suntan lotion and food to create an aroma that one only finds at the beach. I feel carefree, happy even, as Grover, Luke and I walk along the boardwalk, dodging tourists and vendors alike.

Percy's far up ahead, barely visible in the throngs of people, merely a black haired head bobbing through the crowd. He's moving fast, almost running, but I feel no desire to catch up to him. Our encounter at the diner was anything but pleasant, and I don't want to provoke him any further. So, I simply settle for watching the waves crash onto the sand in the distance, listening to the laughter and catching snippets of conversation as people walk by. The beach brings back memories, both good and bad.

After all, it's where Percy and I first met.

-o-o-o-o-

Before you get any ideas about this being some ridiculously cliché story involving me almost drowning and him being the tanned, shirtless lifeguard that saves me using mouth-to-mouth, let me clear a few things up. First off, this encounter happened before puberty really hit, at the mere age of eleven. I was taller than him, he was scrawny and had a voice like a girl, and despite being at the same school for three years, we had never really talked.

Until, you know, our Grade 6 end-of-year field trip, to a camp out on Long Island. A weeklong adventure with no classes, no parents, and no homework- just me and eighty other kids crammed onto a bus with a couple of teacher chaperones. In other words, bliss.

However, Grade 6 is a tricky year, where kids begin exploring a lot of concepts such as popularity, dating, and cliques. Naturally, as the smartest girl in my grade (not to mention one of the newest), I was thrown into categories such as 'geek', 'loser', and 'nerd'. Those labels don't bother me now- I accept them, because they're what I am and I'm proud of it- but for a little eleven year old girl who just wanted to fit in with the 'popular' kids, this really stung.

And then came along Percy Jackson, an ADHD, dyslexic wimp of a boy who was basically friendless and called a freak on a daily basis. We met in the most unconventional way- he was shouting back at Nancy Bobofit, this bully, when he ran into a door and knocked himself unconscious. Naturally, most of the kids laughed and no one made a move to help, so it ended up my duty to grab his unconscious body and drag him up to the Big House, the large cabin where the teachers were staying.

I waited with him while he was unconscious- after all, I had nothing better to do and nowhere to go- and eventually he woke up, dazed and confused and (although I'll never tell anyone this) asking for him mom. And, well, he looked so weirded out seeing me standing there, holding a cup of chocolate pudding in one hand, that I blurted out the first thing I could think of.

"You drool when you sleep."

Thus started my friendship with Percy Jackson, the loser and the freak, forever united. We were weird kids, I admit it- we spent most of our time talking on the beach while everyone else played games around us, and one of our favourite things to do was to make up stories where our absent parents were ancient Gods- but it was a good friendship. At first glance, you would have thought we had nothing in common, but we worked in a way a lot of other people didn't understand, and our bonding at the camp eventually led to us spending almost the entire summer together, making us very close friends by the time Grade 7 started.

Grade 7 was much better than the previous year, as both of us went into it with a friend at our side. We ended up spending a lot of time at Percy's house, talking with his mom or eating blue chocolate chip cookies or attempting to do our homework. It was one of those days, the two of us sitting at the old wooden kitchen table while Sally, Percy's mom, cooked behind us, when a man came through the door, drunk and bellowing expletives at the top of his lungs.

This man was Gabe, Percy's stepfather, who, Percy finally confessed, was abusive towards Sally.

I didn't know what to say- even though I was supposedly a genius, I was still a twelve-year old girl who barely knew about these kinds of things. So while Sally and Gabe fought in the kitchen, I refused to go home and sat in Percy's bedroom with him, telling him things I had never told anyone before. My dream of my mother coming back, my dream of being an architect, and I even vaguely mentioned my dream of Thalia returning, although I didn't mention any names.

We sat in his room, listening to plates breaking and cuss words being screamed as I talked to him, trying to keep his mind off of what was going on outside. It seemed to work- he calmed down and began telling me about his own dreams, about his deadbeat father that had walked out on his mother when she was pregnant, of how Gabe came to be a part of his family. And finally, the shouting stopped, there was the sound of a door slamming, and Sally walked into Percy's room to find the two of us asleep on his bed.

Needless to say, we became a lot closer after that, and pretty soon Gabe left the Jackson household and life went back to a relative normalcy. School became easier for both of us as well- people were beginning to question the popularity standards in place, and pretty soon the tyranny began to wear down. That summer was spent with more friends, more beach visits, and a couple more crazy adventures- one involving this giant blind dog that chased us around town after we grabbed our kite out of a tree near his house.

The next year began with a bigger group of us, eight or so kids who had banded together to avoid the perils of middle school. Grade 8 went by relatively simply, except for a little scare over Winter break when a group of us went skiing together and I got separated from the group, and ended up stuck in a snowdrift. It took them a little while to find me, and from what I heard, Percy went ballistic, even though he never would have admitted it to my face.

And, naturally, as hormones had begun kicking in full-force at this point, that was the moment I fell head-over-heels for my best friend. Which was awkward, because, to the best of my knowledge, he had no interest in me.

As these things go, middle school eventually ended, and Percy and I graduated, still best friends, but coming dangerously close to being something more. Another summer spent together, another slew of hot, sticky days passing the time before high school and the fluttery feeling that was beginning to ignite in our stomach. Mutual friends began to tease, noticing lingering looks and flushed cheeks, and yet still the two of us never explicitly professed our feelings for each other.

And then came high school. High school, terrifying and formidable from a distance, easier once you got close. High school, where suddenly everywhere you looked there were couples kissing and dates were a normalcy. Dances had more and more slow songs, groups of friends were now joined with their significant others, and relationship drama was the main gossip.

But I resisted. I've always been a bit stubborn, a bit crazy, and I refused to conform to the expectations society had set. It was too cliché, to fall in love with my best friend. If we started dating, everything would change and once we broke up- which would inevitably happen- nothing would ever be the same again. Percy was my first real friend, the one that opened my eyes and showed me there was more to the world than the catty bullies of my elementary school years. I couldn't risk him.

I suppose, by being so obsessed with the idea of not falling in love with Percy, I separated myself from him unintentionally. In a way, that began to damage our friendship even more- he began looking at other girls, I began snapping at him more often, but the oblivious idiot still couldn't figure out why I was upset.

Let's just say that Grade 9 was a rough year for the both of us.

And, of course, that summer, after avoiding each other for the first little bit, we finally caved and began to talk again. Talking led to hanging out, rekindling our friendship, and, of course the inevitable happened- we ended up kissing. It was a short kiss, not the typical passionate one you see in movies after years of growing sexual tension, but it was a good kiss.

Okay, scratch that. It was an amazing kiss, my first kiss actually, but what happened afterwards wasn't so great- he ran off one way, I ran off the other, and I didn't see him until school started back up again three weeks later.

And from there… well, from there, it was all downhill.

-o-o-o-o-

"Annabeth?" I blink out of my prolonged memory, shaking my head to clear those unwanted thoughts that had just swarmed me. Luke and Grover are staring at me, and I realize that I must have been zoned out for a few minutes, at least. Great. First this moment, with the reliving of Thalia's death, and now this? They probably think I'm going insane. "You okay there?"

I realize the voice is coming from neither of the boys standing in front of me, and so I turn to my left, where Percy's standing. He frowns, looking like he wants to place a hand on my shoulder but deciding against it. "This is the second time today. Do you want to lie down?" He inquires, and I shake my head no. I'm not some weakling. I can lead a quest without having to stop for naptime.

I open my mouth to tell him this when suddenly something small latches onto my leg, tiny hands grabbing at my thigh. Letting out a startled yelp, I jump backwards into Luke, who steadies me, before glancing down to see a little kid sitting on my foot with a happy smile. He's big, with black hair and green eyes, oddly familiar in some ways. I blink at Percy, and then back at the kid, and finally the dots connect in my head. "Um, so is this the… family you were talking about?"

"Yep," Percy sounds bitter as he pulls the child off my leg. "This is Tyson. Apparently Dad was busy after he left me." The boy, who looks no older than five, blinks up at all of us with a stupid grin that reminds me so much of Percy it hurts.

"So now there's a toddler coming with us?" Luke sighs as if pained. "Do we really have the stuff needed for a kid? I mean, they need entertainment, food, a car seat… I didn't come here to play babysitter, you know." I look at him, shocked. Granted, I'm not thrilled about the idea of Tyson coming with us on the quest, but we can't just abandon him, no matter how much he'll hinder our journey.

Percy clearly has had the same thoughts as me, as his eyes light up with rage. "He's my brother. We're not leaving him behind." From years of knowing him, I can tell that he's a bit embarrassed about this whole situation, but if there's one thing I know about him it's that he's fiercely loyal to his family and his friends. Tyson's coming with us, regardless of the fact that no one's exactly happy about it.

"Well, he's your responsibility, then," Luke backs away from the child, dragging me along with him. His hand's still around my waist, although his fingers droop down as if wanting to touch lower. I see Percy's face harden at Luke's gesture, and I shake out of his grasp. Ever since we left Camp Half-Blood and talked about what happened at the park, Luke's been oddly… touchy with me. Normally by this point, I would have put the guy in his place, but Luke was like family with me before we moved. There's nothing romantic about his gestures, no matter what Percy claims.

Speaking of which, Percy's still simmering with anger, although I'm not sure who it's directed towards at this point. With a sigh, I pull a ten dollar bill from my pocket and hand it over to Grover, telling him to go with Luke to get Tyson some ice cream. No matter how much Percy's words stung back at the diner, I need to let him vent to me now. Better to let him blow up here than when we're all crammed into the tiny little minivan.

The second Grover, Luke, and Tyson are out of sight, however, my words fail me. I want to scream at Percy for what he's said before, I want to ask him why he's so upset, I want to talk to him about Luke and Tyson and this whole quest, but, most importantly, I want to hug him.

And so I do.

It's a completely platonic hug, obviously, with him staggering back a few steps as I throw my arms around him and bury my face into his chest, breathing in the scent that feels so familiar yet so alien that it makes my heart ache. His hands come up cautiously to hug me back, gentle at first, but eventually he's clinging onto me as tightly as I am to him. Years of memories come rushing back, mingling with my flashback from before- hugs at parties and hugs on the beach, hugs in his room as Gabe yelled, hugs at Graduation, hugs after fights and bad days and horrible marks. The last hug, the last good day, before our fight. We hug because we're scared, because we're angry, because we have no clue what the hell we're doing.

Oh, shit, this hug isn't quite so platonic anymore.

Shit, this isn't a platonic hug- this is the kind of hug we'd have pre-blowup.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, I really should stop hugging Percy like this.

I eventually break away from him, stepping back and awkwardly smoothing down my shirt. My cheeks flush bright red, and it's not because of the heat. Percy gapes at me, looking just as bewildered as I feel, and if possible, my face reddens even more. I look like one of the sunburnt tourists walking around.

"What was that for?" Percy's voice sounds an octave higher than normal. "I mean, not that I didn't enjoy hugging you… because I do enjoy you- I mean, I enjoy when you give me hugs… but that's not saying that that's the only reason I like you- and by like I mean in a completely unromantic way… and, oh, screw it." He sighs, running a hand through his hair.

I bite my tongue to keep from laughing at his flushed face. I'm supposed to be angry at him, I know, but somehow I can't muster up the energy to yell. Instead, I blurt out the first thing I can think of- "Your Dad had another kid?"

Percy's face reverts to neutral, his mouth stiffening, and I berate myself for my bluntness. He sighs, flopping down on a nearby bench thankfully out of the sun. "Yep. Now, not only am I still a bastard child, but I wasn't even good enough for him to stay around. Do you know that Tyson said that his 'Daddy' lived with him for four freaking years? Dad didn't even stay long enough for me to be born."

I'm not quite sure how to respond to that, so I stare at the ground, kicking up some loose sand that had blown in from the beach. "He probably had to leave…"

"And do what?" Percy laughs bitterly. "Hook up with another woman? Face it, Annabeth. He decided me and my mom weren't worth it, and decided to move on. There's no more to this story than that." Percy no longer sounds angry. Instead, he just sounds broken, which to me, is even worse.

"Well," I say cautiously, not wanting to offend him- we're actually getting along half-decently now. "Remember when we were kids and both of us only had one real parent? We would pretend they were Gods, remember? They couldn't visit us because there were rules against it, but they were watching us, even if we couldn't see it. Maybe that's kind of what's happening now."

Percy snorts. "We were kids, we pretended. Gods and Goddesses aren't real, and you know it."

"I'm not saying they are real," I begin to chew on my lower lip, a nervous tick of mine. "But my supposedly dead mother showed up in my life, and she knew about me, about us. She's been watching me from a distance, although I'm not sure why. Your Dad told you to come here, albeit in a dream. He wanted to you meet Tyson. This whole thing is insane, I know, but somehow, someway, they've been watching over us."

Percy frowns, and I can tell he's not believing what I'm saying. Trust me, I'm having trouble thinking about it rationally myself. "But he still didn't talk to me," He finally says, his words quiet. "Even if your insane theory is correct, he still was too chicken to even say hello to his own son."

"Well, I'm not saying they're parents of the year!" I protest. "But isn't it better that they watched from a distance rather than disappearing all together?" In the distance, I can see Luke and Grover walking, hands full of ice cream. Tyson's in front of them, eating a multicoloured popsicle.

Percy follows my gaze, staring at them as he finally responds. "I guess so." He closes his eyes, leaning back on the bench.

I scoot towards him a little, feeling exhausted by the day's activities, and allow my head to carefully droop onto his shoulder. He stiffens at first, but eventually relaxes, leaning his head gently on top of mine. I can't help but think about the parallels of this day and the first time we met, sitting together on beach with the hot sun beating down on our faces. If I close my eyes hard enough, it feels like nothing's changed, really, nothing at all.

But the world is always spinning, always changing. We're not the same people we used to be- hell, I'm not sure if we're even still friends. We're not the two loners on a Grade 6 field trip, talking about our favourite things. We're two ex-best friends on a dangerous quest across the country, and really, that makes all the difference in the world.

I know that this is just a temporary break from our incessant fighting. I know that once we get off this bench, we're back to being mad at each other, back to squabbling over petty things. Once we get off this bench, we're back to worrying about the Mark of Athena and making it to Oregon and Luke and Tyson and this whole damn quest.

But it's too much for me, too much pressure for me to handle.

So for now, I simply lean further into Percy and close my eyes tight.

**-o-o-pj&ac-o-o-**

**Okay, so now you have some more information on Percy and Annabeth's backstory! I tried to stick as close to the books as possible, but I added in some scenes of my own as well. Some of them are based off of my own experiences (hence why I said up at the top this chapter was pretty personal), some are figments of my imagination. And you're welcome for the Percabeth I put in at the end!**

**Oh! I almost forgot! So my family just said that next year, we're doing a Europe vacation, which has me over the moon, because I've wanted to go to Europe my whole life. We're looking for places to go in the UK, Paris, Italy, etc., so if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop them in a review! It's much appreciated.**

**No freaking clue when the next update will be, but reviews are amazing and greatly appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Fast update, long chapter… yay! **

**Thanks to all of the amazing reviewers from last chapter: henrie locker, bxexlxlxa, softballchick1290, Mila-is-a-bookworm-101, ConstantCutie, Burned Blue Cookie, Guest, and Something More Creative. Every single one of you is pure epic, and I love you guys so much for sticking with this. **

**I'm on the edge around this chapter… but nonetheless, stay focused, because there are a crapload of hints about what's to come…**

**Warning: If you have a ridiculously weak stomach, people vomit a bit near the end… no detail, though. **

**Enjoy!**

_Percy_

It's late.

I'm not sure how late, exactly, because the road we're on is unpaved and rocky and I can't take my eyes off of it for even a second, but it feels late. My eyelids are threatening to close as a sleepy yawn escapes my lips, the only noise in the quiet car. Tyson fell asleep hours ago, snoring softly in the car seat we managed to find on clearance in a department store, and Luke and Grover followed shortly, sprawled over the backseats. Annabeth's the only person still awake, but she's sketching quietly in the back, twirling a strand of blonde hair absentmindedly.

Noticing my yawn, she glances up from her paper. "I can drive, if you want to sleep." She offers, looking exhausted herself.

I let out a tiny shake of my head, veering around a large pothole. Luke had told us to take this route, claiming that we're less likely to get caught here, where there's no cameras to track our license plate. He was right, but why couldn't have he have driven this route? I'm clutching the steering wheel so tight, it feels like it could break apart in my hands any second. "No," I manage to get out, swearing as we go over a bump, loose gravel flying up around us. "The next hotel we see, we'll stop and spend the night. I can drive until then."

Annabeth frowns, clearly dissatisfied by my answer, but looks back down at her drawing nonetheless, dropping the matter. I can tell she's trying to avoid getting into another fight with me, something I admire her for. After the argument at the diner, I expected us to be pissed at each other for a few days, but then when we were at the beach, everything changed, somehow. I'm not sure why she hugged me, and honestly, I was pretty taken aback by it- a slap across the face seemed more her style- but I ended up hugging her back.

And that's when I realized just how much I miss her.

Not literally, of course- we're around each other all day now- but in the sense that I missed her pre-blowup. I missed the Annabeth from the café across the street, the girl who practically lived at my apartment and was adored by my mom and Paul, the girl who was my best friend. I miss her so badly it hurts, and that hug brought all of those emotions back full-force, overwhelming me like a sudden blow to the head.

Afterwards we were kind of in a limbo between what we used to be and what we are now, but now, with the beach long gone and the hot sun seeming like a distant dream, it's just plain awkward. I can tell that the rest of them (except probably not Tyson) realized something happened between us on the beach, but I'm not saying anything, and neither is Annabeth. The hug was a mistake. Last time I got close to her… well, look where it got us.

The road's starting to appear blurrier, the trees starting to swim before my eyes. My head jerks forward for a second as I finally succumb to sleep, before snapping back up as Annabeth lets out a shriek behind me. I glance back up blearily to realize that the minivan's spun out of control, driving horizontally across the road and barely missing a couple trees. "Shit, sorry," I mutter, blinking a few times to clear the fuzz in my head before steering the car back into place. "I fell asleep there for a second."

"You're driving with a five year old kid in the car!" Annabeth hisses, glancing around to make sure that our near crash didn't disturb any of the other passengers. "You can't fall asleep behind the wheel! Let me drive."

I sigh, about to give in, when suddenly a florescent light up ahead catches my eye. This road's been so dark and deserted for so long that the bright glare burns, but eventually I'm able to make out the words '_C.C.'s Resort and Spa'_. "There," I say proudly, turning into the barren parking lot. "We can stop here for the night."

Annabeth frowns, looking at the small hotel that had appeared from seemingly nowhere. "I don't know, Percy. Doesn't this seem a little suspicious?"

I grin at her, unbuckling my seatbelt and jumping out. The cool air's pleasant after being stuck in the stifling car for so long, and so I take a deep breath in before sliding over the back door on Tyson's side. "It's either that, or I keep driving." Without waiting for a response, I begin to shake the five-year old awake, hoping he wouldn't lash out and hit me once he wakes.

With a roll of her eyes, Annabeth sighs and relents, beginning to wake up Grover and Luke. Eventually all five of us, groggy and disheveled, enter the lobby to find it completely empty. The front desk is covered in dust, and the furniture, although it must have been very ornate at some point in time, is faded and frayed. I lay Tyson down on a nearby sofa- the poor kid's exhausted- before moving further into the room, the rest of them behind me.

"Hello?" Grover calls out, trembling slightly. This feels like a scene from an old horror movie- any second now, we're going to find the stash of dead bodies hidden behind the desk. I'm about to mention this when Luke walks over to an old-fashioned bell and begins to ring it loudly. The sound bounces around the room, echoing off of the high ceiling. If anyone's in here, they should have heard this.

Just when we've almost decided to go and sleep in the van, a door behind us swings open, revealing three dark-haired figures. They're obviously all females, dressed in long, Grecian-style gowns, but one of them appears significantly older than the other two. "We're here, we're here, don't worry," The oldest woman coos, stepping out fully into the lobby. "Terribly sorry it took us so long to get here. But welcome to C.C.'s Resort and Spa!"

Annabeth steps forward, all business. "Um, hi. Can we please have three rooms, for-"

"My dear!" The woman that spoke before walks up to Annabeth and begins to examine her face, holding her chin with long, manicured nails. "What a gorgeous face you have! She is beautiful, no?" The last part is directed at us three boys.

"Yes," Luke and I say at the same time, before glaring at one another and looking down. Gods, does he not understand the fact that he's a fully grown man, seven years older than her, that could go to jail for assaulting a minor? I seethe, tuning back in to hear the woman stop rambling as Annabeth begins to speak.

"Actually, we just want some beds. We've been travelling all day, and we really could use some sleep." Annabeth gestures towards Tyson, who's still passed out on the sofa behind us.

"Then they must eat, correct, mother?" One of the girls, looking like the eldest of the two, walks towards us as well. This must be some ridiculous family business or something. "Guests should never have to go hungry."

"Indeed, Hylla," The woman- I guess the mom of the two girls?- smiles serenely at her daughter. "Would you show our lovely guests to the dining hall? Reyna, you can take our two… special visitors to their room. Make it fast, now." The older daughter, Hylla, nods and begins ushering Annabeth, who has taken sleeping Tyson in her arms, and Grover through a side door. I go to follow, when the youngest girl-Reyna?- presses a hand to my chest to stop me.

"You two must eat upstairs," She says, gesturing towards the staircase. Reyna looks around my age, maybe a year younger, with dark hair braided to the side and obsidian eyes. "It is customary that men eat away from the women and children. Your friend- the cripple- is an exception to this due to his condition, but you two must remain separate. It is tradition, after all."

"That's stupid," I blurt out without thinking, and Reyna's gaze snaps around to face me, eyes dark. "I mean, uh, okay. We can follow your custom… thing and eat upstairs."

With a nod, Reyna begins ushering us up a flight of stairs and to our room, which is thankfully only two floors up. I suddenly have a deep urge to take a shower- I didn't have time at Camp Half Blood, and quite honestly, I think I'm beginning to smell a fair bit- but I change my mind as I enter the room, Luke right behind me. No way am I letting him out of my sight. He'll probably toss my clothes out the window or something.

Reyna shuts the door, telling us food will be here shortly, and I'm left alone with Luke, to my utter dissatisfaction. He flops down on the bed closest to the window, sighing in exhaustion as if he hadn't been sleeping soundly in the car for the last five hours. I sit stiffly on the other mattress, close to fainting from lack of sleep but also, really, really craving food.

"So, Annabeth?" It takes me a second to realize that Luke's talking to me. I figured he'd be one of those people who make diabolical speeches to themselves aloud. Seeing my confused look, he elaborates, "Is she crazy or something? The whole prophecy shit she's been spouting sounds pretty insane."

I gape at Luke, not believing what I'm hearing. "What? But.. you said… you said you believed in the Mark of Athena!"

Luke snorts. "I think the whole concept behind the 'secret' to the Mark of Athena is pretty cool- I mean, it probably will help unlock a lot of technological advances, based off some of the research I've done. But she's turning it into a freaking fairy tale- prophecies and giants and dreams. So, let me ask again- is she insane?"

"No!" I say furiously, getting to my feet. "She's not insane! She's just acting off of her mom's orders, like she's supposed to!"

"And that's another thing," Luke continues, not even batting an eye at my outburst. "Parents. You're all so naïve, thinking that they know what's best for you, that they'll always be there to help. Let me tell you, Percy, they're not. My Dad? He's never been around. Took off when I was a baby, and never tried to get in contact with me. We need a new system, with new rules in place. Rules that make it so that kids can do what they want, without always having to listen to their parents."

"That," I'm appalled, honestly, by this seemingly random and yet somewhat creepy conversation. "Is the most _insane _thing I have ever heard of. You can't trust children to make decisions by themselves! There'll be two-year olds wandering across highways unsupervised! There'll be ten-year olds dying from alcohol poisoning! You seriously don't want that kind of system in place."

"Why not?" Luke shrugs. "I grew up practically unsupervised. Think about what could happen with that kind of freedom!"

"Um… death, wars, destruction, just to name a few," I list the items off on my fingers, honestly terrified now. Whatever Luke is rambling on about doesn't exactly give me high hopes about his mental stability. "So… what? You being on this 'quest' is all an act?"

With a smirk, Luke rolls his eyes at me. "No. I'm interested in where your journey will lead, honestly. And there_ are_ some bonuses- Annabeth's ass, for example." That's it. I'm about to punch him straight in the face. No one- and I mean no one- talks about Annabeth like that, like she's some piece of meat for them to survey. Because she's so much more- she's intelligent and witty and brave and…

…wait, I'm supposed to be beating up Luke. Right. Focus, Percy, focus.

Luke's still going on- ranting, really, by this point- about his supposed 'utopian' society, which all sounds like a load of bull, if you ask me. I clench my fists, ready to give him a good sock across the nose, when there's a knock on the door. Immediately, Luke shuts up and I flop down onto my bed, trying to act nonchalant and failing miserably. If it's Annabeth, I don't want her to hear anything about what Luke and I were talking about (well, really, Luke was doing most of the talking). Luckily, once Luke opens the door, it turns out it's just Reyna, holding several platters of food. My stomach grumbles, and I practically dive for the plate Luke tosses in my direction.

Even though the things we were discussing before were rather dark, not to mention all of the tension between us beforehand, we sat in amicable silence as we ate. Hey, don't judge us- we're teenage boys, and there's hamburgers in front of us. What would you do?

"So," Luke says, ketchup dripping down his chin. You know, it's even harder to take this whole diabolical-mastermind thing seriously when he looks like he's just stepped out of the latest Twilight movie. "Will you join me, Percy?"

I almost choke on the fries I'm practically inhaling. "Join you in killing a lot of innocent people, for some insane idea that will never succeed? The world will never listen to you, Luke. Your ideals are ridiculous."

Luke sighed. "I figured you'd say that, Jackson. Don't worry, you'll come around. But until then, I'm sticking with you guys, which means you don't breathe a word of this to anyone, alright?"

I can't help it- I let out an incredulous snort. "Really? You think I'm not going to tell Annabeth about this the second they all get back? I'm going to tell Grover too, and hell, I'm even going to tell Tyson. You're a jackass, Luke, just like I always knew you were. And now… I'm finally going to get a chance to show everyone else your true colours."

Luke's silent for a moment, chewing at his burger. Then, finally, he looks me in the eye, dead serious, and smirks. "What makes you think they'll believe you?"

This takes me aback. I can't even imagine them believing Luke over me. "They won't," I say confidently, hoping he can't see the worry in my eyes. "Trust me- they know me so much better than they know you. They'll believe me, you'll see."

Luke looks like he's about to respond, when suddenly his face pinches together in pain. I look at him in confusion, not exactly rushing to his aid, as suddenly my stomach begins flopping uneasily in my stomach, cramping and twisting until I'm almost screaming from the pulsating ache. I can feel sweat beginning to pool on my forehead, and the room begins spinning slightly. This feels almost like the flu, except a few seconds ago I was perfectly fine.

"Did you poison the food?" I manage to choke out angrily, wincing as my body is racked with another bout of pain. This is ridiculous. What could have happened that would have made us react so suddenly and violently?

Luke's face is pale green as he looks up from the mattress. "If I did, tell me, why would I poison myself-" He cuts off abruptly, just as I feel the wave of nausea washing over me. Making a beeline for the bathroom, I double over and retch into the toilet, slumping against the small bathtub as the room swirls faster. Luke's still in the main room, puking out of the window. I really hope no one has the room below us.

I'm shuddering now, full-body shivers that make me just want to pass out. "What the hell is going on?" I almost scream out to Luke, forgetting temporarily that he may just be some kind of criminal mastermind.

"Do you really think I know?" Luke hollers back, just as I hear the sound of more retching. He groans, and I can hear him slump against the wall. "If anything, I would bet these idiots undercooked the food or something."

More vomit on my part keeps me from responding, but my mind is still racing. Although undercooking the food seems likely, why would we have felt it so fast? I'm no expert, but I think food poisoning takes more than a few minutes to set in. This feels deliberate, almost, like someone wanted us to get sick.

The door bangs open just then, but I can do nothing more than let out a faint groan as Annabeth races in, Grover and Tyson right behind her. "Guys, we need to go…" She trails off, noticing our overturned plates, Luke puking his guts out onto the flowers outside, and me, doubled over in the bathroom. "What happened?"

"Someone poisoned the food," I say grimly, turning away for a second to cough weakly into the toilet. "We're not sure who."

Grover does his strange bleat-chuckle again nervously. "Yeah, well, we've got problems as well. As in, angry thieves trying to rob us problems. We need to get out of here- we managed to shake them off, but pretty soon they're going to be knocking on our door again."

I retch loudly, feeling their sympathetic winces on my back. "We can barely stand, though," I point out, trying to clamber to my feet and failing miserably. Getting to the van seems like a distant dream right now- I'll be lucky if I can get to the lobby without passing out. "I'm not sure how we're going to be able to walk, let alone run away from angry robbers."

Annabeth chews her bottom lip nervously. "Well, we can't stay here. I guess we'll just have to help you two walk, then." She makes a move towards Luke as my stomach plummets, and not because I'm sick.

I wince from the bathroom. "Seriously?" I say, trying to keep my tone light. "I held your hair back when you ate a worm when we were twelve, and now you won't even help me up?" Yes, I'm desperate. Thank you for noticing.

Annabeth's face softens, and she changes paths, walking up to me instead. "Fine. Grover, go and help Luke," She orders, the tiniest him of a smile on her face as I dizzily stand and begin to lurch towards the door, her arm wrapped around me. At any other time my ego would be a tiny bit damaged by this, but screw it- if she lets go, I'm hitting the floor face-first. My legs feel like they're made of Jell-O.

We walk out into the hall, Luke and Grover right behind us, Tyson by their side. They're having trouble maneuvering around the crutches, but eventually we all make it to the elevator, collapsing the second the doors shut. I slide down the wall, resting my head in between my knees. Finally, the door dings, and I haul myself back to my feet as we step out into the lobby.

And, of course, that's when everything goes downhill.

There are about eight men standing in front of us, with bushy beards, eye patches, and daggers, looking like some ridiculous pirate wannabes or something. To the side stands Reyna and Hylla, along with their mother. Everyone looks like they really want to rip us apart limb from limb, which I've learned from experience generally isn't a good thing.

"Um, hi," Grover steps forward, obviously deciding to go for the polite approach. "Why don't you put your nice, er, daggers away and we can talk like civil humans?" Beside him, Luke nods eagerly. I cautiously pull Tyson into my side- something tells me that the wannabe pirates aren't going to play nice.

"Boy, we ain't simpletons," One of the men sneer. He looks like one of the dudes from Duck Dynasty- long beard, heavy accent, you name it. "Y'all are gonna attack the second we turn."

"We're weaponless, actually," Luke pipes up ever-so-helpfully, and I wince. Great. Now we've lost any advantage we had over them. Another wave of nausea overtakes me, and I slump into Annabeth's side, feeling ridiculously weak.

"Look," Annabeth's watching me nervously, as if hoping I won't puke. "My friends here are sick. If you could just let us go on our way…"

"Oh, we know they're sick," Hylla smirks. "It's their punishment, isn't it, mother?"

I blink, wondering if I'm hallucinating. These people are just hotel owners.. why the hell would they want to poison us on purpose? "Punishment? Why?" I inquire, my voice sounding weak and raspy. "Whatever I did, I probably didn't mean it."

Reyna tsks, turning towards her mother. "You see? They are so ignorant that they don't even know what they did wrong."

"Listen," Annabeth lets go of me and walks forward, and I try my best to remain standing. She lowers her voice, as if telling the eleven individuals in front of her a secret, but her eyes show that she's really just about to lie through her teeth. "Those two boys you see there aren't exactly the sharpest. In fact, they're actually rather stupid. So they probably meant no harm to whoever they offended… anyways, if you could call your lovely… er… pirates off and step aside, we'll just be on our way."

In a flash, there are four daggers pointed at her throat. Great. Not only is it, like, 3am, but Luke and I are about to vomit our guts up, no one's gotten any sleep, and there are men with weapons in front of us, and women that hate us beside them. The odds really aren't in our favour, are they?

The oldest woman, whose name I still don't know, laughs. "Oh, how funny! She doesn't even realize that we're just doing this to protect her."

Annabeth looks taken aback as she cautiously steps away from the daggers. "Protect me?"

"Oh, yes," The woman's skirt swishes as she walks up to Annabeth, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I am Circe. I believe you have great potential, but you cannot achieve that potential while on a quest with such ignorant pigs! The shame! They call you beautiful, they have no other regard for you. They do not value a women for anything other than her looks. Thus, their punishment."

"Hold up," Grover's furry eyebrows knit together. "So you poisoned Percy and Luke… because they called Annabeth beautiful?"

Circe nods, apparently satisfied, and if I wasn't so dizzy, I would have screamed in terror. We're outnumbered by people that don't exactly seem sane anymore, with no way to escape. Annabeth seems to be thinking the same thing, as her eyes meet mine. They're thinking, racing, before finally a solution is reached and I know what I have to do. It's stupid, and pointless, and will most likely end in injury, but I have to try.

The rest of them have obviously received the message by way of eye contact, and I watch as their bodies tense up. I reach into my pocket and pull out my bomb-pen, one hand on the trigger. We're waiting for a signal from Annabeth, and finally it arrives- a simple twitch of the hand, nothing more.

And with that, we all race straight into the crowd of people, heads down. I scoop Tyson up and hold him to my chest, dodging knives and frustrated screams. The ground is spinning, and my stomach is threatening to blow any second now, but I keep running. It's a stupid plan, but unless we wanted to stand there talking all day, it's our only way out.

We burst out of the front doors and into the parking lot, making a beeline for the van. There's an angry mob behind us now, seething with rage and I wonder briefly why on Earth they were so hell-bent on us staying there. Luke and I got our punishment- what else did they need us for? The pavement is hard underneath my feet, as we finally reach the van and I toss Tyson inside, clambering in after him. Annabeth gets behind the wheel and jets out of there, not even waiting for the doors to close.

"What," Grover pants, gasping for air, "is it with us running into buff guys with beards?"

I'm about to answer when the nausea catches up to me and, for the second time in three days, I pass out.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't all that manly, either.

**I have an odd fascination with making Percy pass out a lot… I think he does it at least once more in coming chapters, so maybe I'll need to start coming up with new ways to end his POV… **

**Anyways, so yeah! Lots of shit went down in this chapter! And now, with Luke's evilness out in the open, we can have Percabeth, right?**

**Haha, NOPE. Annabeth still doesn't know, remember? **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter more than I did, and don't forget to leave a review on your way out! Seriously guys, it means so much. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**

**PS: If anyone here speaks French… I have a project due Monday and I'm shit at writing futur simple. Help?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Pointedly ignoring my Science project and writing this instead… yes, I am indeed a procrastinator.**

**Anyways, there was great feedback on the last chapter as always, and I'm running out of different ways to say how awesome you guys are! So I'm just going to settle for thanking you all: Rosario Central, Mila-is-a-bookworm-101, ConstantCutie, Burned Blue Cookie, Henrie Locker, and SomethingMoreCreative. Thank you all for your consistent support!**

**I'm actually pleased with this chapter- some important stuff that you should pay attention to at the beginning, pointless fluff and bonding the rest of the way through. **

**Warning: Underage drinking, but not really. You'll see what I mean.**

**Enjoy!**

**o-o-ac&pj-o-o**

_Annabeth_

I know I'm dreaming before my feet even touch the ground.

Granted, the fact that I'm in a place where my feet weren't touching the ground gives me some indication that this isn't reality, but still. I've landed in a stereotypical dreamland- one where the grass is too green and the sun is too bright and I'm sitting on the ground dressed in a white sundress.

I clamber to my feet, marvelling at the fact that the dress is still spotless even though I was sitting in dirt a few seconds ago, and begin to explore my surroundings in further detail. A stream runs slowly to my left, splashing over rocks, and to my right lies a forest, swaying branches stretching tall above my head. It's a utopia, designed to look nothing but appealing to me, and I wonder briefly what's the catch- there is no way this is a normal dream, a figment of my imagination. Everything is too sharp, too real. This must be the type of dream Percy was talking about- the dream when he first met Poseidon.

I walk over to the stream, grass cool under my bare feet, hoping maybe some answers as to why I'm here lie there. No such luck- the only thing I see are a few ripples of water. There's not even any fish swimming, no murky plants growing. I step into the stream, pulling my dress up so it won't get wet, and wade around, looking for the source of the water.

And that's when the ground drops out beneath me, and a cruel voice whispers, "Open your eyes."

The air's cold now, dark and musty. It's the opposite of the world I was just in- now, instead of being free, I'm bolted into a metal chair, my white dress tattered and covered in blood. Everything on me aches, as if every single inch of my skin has been pressed on with a hot iron. It's hell, to put it simply.

Instead of being silent, the air around me is now filled with tortured screams. Big bursts of fire light up the darkness where I sit, and eventually I make out that I'm in a large cavern, or a cave of some sort. I struggle to escape from the bonds confining me, to no avail. My skin begins to blister and bleed where the chains are cutting into my flesh, and a trickle of blood rolls down my arm, dropping onto the ground below me. At once, the cavern falls silent.

A geyser of fire leaps up suddenly right beside me, right where the drop of blood landed. It burns my skin, covering me with flames, as my skin broils and burns until I'm screaming out because this is agony, pure agony, and I can't breathe or move or do anything…

And then it's all over, and the same voice whispers once again, "Open your eyes."

I do, and my mother is sitting across from me.

We're back in Mr. D's office, just like it was the first day of this whole mess again, and she's leaning against the desk, studying some papers intently. She looks a lot more rugged than she did the last time I saw her- she's dressed in hiking boots and a flannel button-up, her dark hair down and curly. I slink down to the floor, shakily feeling my limbs to make sure that the fire wasn't real, that my limbs aren't scorched, that I'm still in one piece.

My mom- Athena- glances over at me in surprise, as if just realizing I had gotten here. "Elysium and the Fields of Punishment." She says, straight faced, as she sets her papers down and turns to face me.

I'm confused. "What?" I manage to choke out, smoothing the damn sundress down over my knees.

Athena sighs, sitting down in Mr. D's thick leather chair. "Elysium was your first dream. Utopia. The perfect afterlife. The Fields of Punishment was the next. Agony. Torture for the rest of time. Tell me, which one did you prefer?"

"Elysium, obviously," I haul myself to my feet, walking over and sitting in the chair across from Athena. "But Mom… where am I? Why am I here? What's going on?"

Athena ignores me, looking around until she finds a large bottle balanced precariously on the corner of Mr. D's desk. I recognize it from my Dad's liquor cabinet as vodka, something I've heard classmates talk about multiple times but never actually tried. "Drink, Annabeth," My mother commands me, pushing the bottle of alcohol towards me. This feels bit backwards. Isn't my mom supposed to be the one preventing me from drinking?

I look at the bottle in disgust. "No way. Look Mom, I need some answers. Help me out, please. The quest- the quest is getting too scary, alright? It feels hopeless, and I don't even know what we're searching for anymore."

"Annabeth," There is barely disguised rage in Athena's eyes. "Drink, and then we will talk."

I sigh, opening the bottle and taking a delicate sip. This is a dream, obviously- it's not like I'm actually gulping vodka from the bottle- but it still makes my stomach clench uncomfortably at the thought of drinking when I'm five years underage. I'm a good girl! This isn't my style.

The alcohol burns as it streams down my throat- someone once told me vodka doesn't taste good going down or up, and I must say I agree with them. Why the hell would people do this for pleasure? I finish another sip and Athena, apparently satisfied, motions me to put the bottle down. The room feels a bit hazy around the edges, but nothing too bad. "Alright, now you have to give me some answers." I demand, the vodka sitting uncomfortably in my stomach.

Athena purses her lips, tapping her fingers methodically on the desk. "I'm a big fan of metaphors, you know," She smiles, opening the bottle of vodka and taking a swig of it herself. "Tell me Annabeth, how did you feel when that alcohol went down your throat?"

I'm about to protest, to say that she still isn't giving me answers, when a piercing gaze from her silences my qualms. "It burnt," I admit, staring at the ground. "It made me wonder why people would voluntarily put themselves through that kind of pain."

"Mmmm," Athena grins, as if I had just given her the correct answer. "Very good. And what about in the Fields of Punishment?"

"That felt like hell," I answer quickly, beginning to feel like I know where this is going and not liking it one little bit. "To be put through eternal pain… to never be happy and always have to suffer… it sucked, to put it mildly."

Athena does that same proud parent smile for a second again, before it is gone, replaced with a look of pure malice. "So can you tell me why you're making all of the wrong choices, then?" She places her hands on her temples as if my very presence is giving her a headache. "I trusted you, my daughter, to make the right choices. The world depends on your decisions, otherwise all of their bodies will burn to ashes, all of them will be put in pain thanks to your stupid choices, all of them will be in eternal hell. The fate of the world rests in your hands, and you have failed me."

I gape at her, not able to believe what I'm hearing. I want to throw up, and not just because of the alcohol. "What… what do you mean?" I ask, throat tight. "We're heading towards Oregon. We've been following the coin, but it hasn't been giving us directions since Long Island…"

"Because you went off route!" Athena slams the vodka bottle down on the table, and I wince. "You had a mission, an objective. But you followed what the Jackson boy wanted you to do instead, and look where that got you all. Almost harmed twice! I wanted you to be safe by following the route the Mark of Athena picked. And you disobeyed me."

"Percy needed to find his brother!" I protest, angry now. "And you know, this would have been helpful information to tell me _before _we started this whole quest! A little heads up, maybe? You were the one who wanted Percy to come in the first place!"

"I thought he would make you work harder!" Athena's furious now as well, and I'm happy that this is all happening in my 'dream world', where she can't actually kill me. "I thought you would be so eager to distance yourself from him, to save yourself from the pain that comes with seeing him, that you would focus more on the quest. I didn't think it would have the opposite effect- I've been watching, you know. I saw your little rendezvous back on Virginia Beach. Annabeth, don't you remember that that boy broke your heart?"

I sigh, not believing I have to be the mature one in this situation. "This isn't about Percy, alright? I'll get us back to where the Mark of Athena wants us to go. I'll fix this, I promise."

Athena nods, decently satisfied. "Very well, then. You'll know what you have to do at your next stop. But until that point…" Her eyes narrow, and even dressed casually, swaying a little bit from the amount of alcohol she's just downed, she's never seemed more intimidating. "I expect to see no more flirtatious activity of any kind with Percy Jackson, you understand? Or there will be consequences."

Then she chucks the bottle at the wall, right behind my head, and I wake up in a cold sweat.

There's a bit of daylight peeking through the window of the car, the sun rising slowly in the sky. I'm curled up in the front seat of the car, legs pulled up to my chin. The digital clock on the dashboard shows me that it's still far too early- 5:30am, to be precise. Meaning I only got around 3 or 4 hours of sleep. Oh, the joy. I stretch, shoving my coat, which I had been using as a makeshift blanket, off my lap, and turn around to see where everyone else is. Luke's in the very back, practically the trunk, looking a lot healthier than the last time I saw him. Percy and Grover are in the middle row, Grover mainly on the ground and Percy on his side, face smushed against the window.

After driving like a maniac last night to get away from C.C.'s Resort, I finally had managed to find a little town about twenty miles away and parked in the near-empty lot of the 24-hour supermarket, everyone else fast asleep by that point. Now, in the morning light, I see that the supermarket's the corner of a shopping plaza, complete with a McDonalds, a couple clothing stores, and a few other specialty stops. My stomach growls at the thought of a McDonalds burger- the food last night was barely filling.

"I'm hungry," A little voice sounds from beside me, and I jerk back in surprise for a second, wondering if my subconscious has suddenly decided to speak aloud. However, I realize that it's only Tyson, sitting plaintively in the passenger seat and doodling with some markers we managed to find when grabbing the car seat yesterday.

I smile at the little boy, grabbing my backpack from the ground. "Really? Let's go and grab some groceries, then." Screw it- everyone else is fast asleep, and I can just lock the car and leave them a note. No harm done. Besides, we can pick up some new clothes and food for the road- Gods know we all need them badly.

Tyson's face lights up, and he eagerly clambers out of the car, ignoring my protests to be quiet. I grab his sticky hand as we cross the parking lot, smoothing down my ridiculously wrinkled t-shirt with the other and wishing I had a mint or something to disguise my bad breath. Tyson hums under his breath as we walk through the doors, and a sudden pang runs through me as I think of my own brothers, probably worried sick and having no clue where I am. However, pretty soon I'm being pulled off to look at the 'coolest car jammies _ever' _by Tyson, and my primary concern becomes keeping an eye on him.

The cart loads up fast- I need clothes for all of us, some hygiene necessities, and most importantly, food. I also grab medicine, a couple toys for Tyson, several large packs of water, and a few walkie-talkies in case we need to access one another. It's leisurely shopping, in a way- I have Athena's unlimited credit card, we have a couple hours until anyone else wakes up, and the store is practically empty. Hey, if I want to please Athena we need to get to Oregon fast, and the more shopping we do now, the less rest stops we'll have to take.

I walk up to the cash, quickly paying while the woman behind the counter eyes me warily. I probably look like some teen mom runaway or something, shopping with a stolen credit card. Luckily, she doesn't say anything, and neither do I as I grab Tyson and all of our bags and walk back to the car.

Once arriving there, unloading as quietly as humanly possible, about to leave to go to McDonalds when Percy stretches out in the backseat, pushing a hand messily through his black hair. The resemblance between him and Tyson is shocking, really, as he opens his bright green eyes and looks around blearily. I wave from the open trunk, where I'm putting in the last bag of groceries in, and his face registers puzzlement, obviously wondering what the hell's going on.

"Brother!" Tyson clambers over the still-sleeping Luke, launching himself into Percy's arms. "Me an' Annabeth went shopping! And I got a new toy, an' Kool-Aid, and race car pajamas…" He continues blathering on as Percy raises an eyebrow, looking at me curiously.

I shrug, a faint blush covering my cheeks. "You were all still sleeping, and we needed to restock on supplies. It's no big deal, honestly."

Percy nods as if this makes sense, although his eyes still look confused. "So I take it we got away from C.C.'s Resort okay?" He gently pushes Tyson off his lap, opening the passenger door and climbing over Grover to get out, letting his little brother follow behind him. At my grin and nod, he continues to speak, "So now what? I'm hungry."

I bite my lip, pulling a pile of new jeans, underwear, and t-shirts out for both boys from the trunk, shoving it into a shopping bag with some toothpaste. "Well, first off, we're going to hit McDonalds and get cleaned up in their bathrooms. We'll eat, get some stuff for Grover and Luke, hit a gas station, and then head for Portland. That sound ok?"

"What about the play place?" Tyson looks at me hopefully, and I sigh, relenting to both his and Percy's puppy dog faces.

"Fine," I grab some of my new clothes from the trunk and lock the minivan before heading across the parking lot to the McDonalds. "But Percy, you're not allowed in. I heard some 16-year-olds broke a tunnel in there once."

Once in, I make a beeline for the washroom, pretty sure I smell like shit. Luckily, it's empty, and toss the shopping bag containing my clothes into a stall, debating the best way to do this, before finally settling on wetting paper towels and putting store-bought soap on them to clean myself. It's not a glamorous approach, sure, but screw it, I needed to get clean, and after last night's mess, I don't think we'll be stopping at another hotel anytime soon.

My hair's a disaster, but since I'm not going to risk trying to wash it in here, I just throw it up in a messy ponytail as I squirm into the slightly too-loose sweatpants and t-shirt I grabbed from the clearance rack back at the department store. Makeup seems like a distant dream right now, so I simply brush my teeth before heading back out into the main area of the restaurant, considerably cleaner than when I had first walked in.

6:30 in the morning means that it's pretty damn deserted in here, the only other occupants being the people working behind the counter and, of course, Percy and Tyson. They're eating already, Percy wolfing down some ridiculously large BLT, and Tyson gleefully pouring a mountain of syrup onto his pancakes. I slide into the seat across from them, grabbing the Egg McMuffin and strawberry smoothie Percy picked up for me and grinning. Food is exactly what I need right now.

After a while, Tyson finishes his pancakes and promptly races over to the play place, climbing up to the very top. Percy and I remain seated, him wolfing down a hashbrown and me slowly drinking my smoothie.

"So," Percy speaks in between bites. "What was up with you taking Tyson shopping?"

I sigh, running my fingers through the end of my ponytail, twisting the blonde strands around my hand. "I just needed to get out of the car. I had a… um, bad dream before, and Tyson was awake, and besides, you were all starting to smell."

Percy nods as if this makes sense, hashbrown now gone save for a few crumbs. "Tyson said you looked scared when you woke up. If, um, you don't mind me asking… what was your dream about?"

I try to appear nonchalant. "Just my mom."

"Oh," Percy falls silent at that, drumming his fingers on the table. "Did she say anything helpful about the quest? Like, maybe where we're supposed to go? I know Oregon's our final destination, but somehow I feel like it'll be a while before we get there."

I think back to the dream- the Fields of Punishment, the vodka, Athena screaming at me to stay away from Percy. "No," I gulp, blinking those thoughts away. It was just a dream, after all. "She just wanted to remind us to hurry up and get to Portland, how the fate of the whole world is resting on our shoulders, etcetera, etcetera."

Percy smirks, as if he's gotten me all figured out. "Then why was it a nightmare?"

I bite my lip, a thousand responses coming into my head but none of them feeling right. "Because it just was, okay?" I snap, leaning back in my seat. "Gods, why does everything have to always be so complicated around you?" Seeing his wounded baby seal face, I relent slightly. "Sorry, sorry. Let's change the topic. How are you feeling?"

Percy looks surprised, as if last night at C.C.'s has already faded from his mind. "Alright, I guess. A little queasy, but that's probably because of all the food I just ate."

I smile, finishing off my smoothie. "Probably," There's a comfortable silence between us, and I decide it's time to broach bigger concepts. "So are you… okay with everything? With Luke being on the quest and Tyson being your brother and all? Honest answer, no bluffing."

Percy rubs the back of his neck, deep in thought. "Tyson and I talked when you were in the washroom. He's a good kid, I guess. Gonna take some getting used to, but I like having him around. And, um, Luke…" -here Percy looks conflicted- "…Luke and I talked last night and um, we're cool now. Like, there's nothing going on there anymore."

I blink, taken aback. I thought for sure they would have fought last night. "Really? Nothing happened?"

"Nah," Percy stands up and stretches, and I follow his lead. "We were pretty chill, before the whole puking thing. It was normal, really." I smile. This wasn't something I was expecting to happen, but I'm glad it did. Luke and Percy are both really important people in my life, and to not have to constantly be watching them to make sure no fights happen is a relief.

We're both on our feet now, grinning like idiots and not speaking, when suddenly I pull him into another hug. It's a lot shorter than last time, but the feeling's still there, those ridiculous butterflies beating up a storm in my stomach. I know I should obey Athena and stay away from him, but hey- this is a friendly hug. She only said no flirting, right? "So, um, are we okay?" I ask, my face buried in his chest. I want him desperately to say yes, but I don't blame him if he doesn't. God knows I've been a cold- hearted bitch to him these past couple months.

I although I can't see him, I can almost feel him grinning as his arms tighten around my waist. "We are now."

**o-o-ac&pj-o-o**

**Yay for pointless Percabeth(ish) fluff and cheesy dialogue!**

**Except it wasn't really pointless, was it? Because Percy didn't tell Annabeth about what happened with Luke.. and Annabeth didn't tell Percy about her dream. But now they're getting along, and only I know what will happen next! (insert evil laugh here)**

**Also, I dunno- I felt like Tyson and Annabeth needed to bond, plus, I love writing little kids. And I also have this weird affinity for writing Percabeth at a McDonalds. Speaking of which, there is a TBAL reference in this chapter- can you catch it? **

**I love all of the amazing support on this story, so leave a review on your way out, please! I really want to hear what you guys have to say, even if you thought it sucked. Which I hope it didn't, because I like this chapter, but if you thought it sucked, then tell me (nicely). **

**Whew, long Author's Notes in this. Sorry!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**


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